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HISTORY    OF     ROME 


FOR 


High  Schools  and  Academies 


BY 


GEORGE   WILLIS    BOTSFORD,   Ph.D. 

INSTRUCTOR    IN   THE   HISTORY  OF  GREECE  AND   ROME   IN   HARVARD 

UNIVERSITY;    AUTHOR  OF  "A   HISTORY  OF  GREECE"   AND 

"  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  ATHENIAN 

CONSTITUTION  " 


WITH  MAI'S  AND   NUMEROUS  ILLUSTRATIONS 


i  ■ 

» 


Ncto  gork 
THE   MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

LONDON:    MACMILLAN  &  CO.,.  Ltd. 
IQOI 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  igoi, 
Bv  THE   MACMILLAN    COMPANY. 


«-     ••••!••• 


4      « 


«-   • 


Nortoooti  ^DrfBS 

J.  S.  Cushiiij;  it  Co.  -  Berwick  &  Smith 

Norwood  Mass.  U.S.A. 


rr 


^b 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

This  volume  owes  its  existence  chiefly  to  encouragement 
from  teachers  who  are  using  my  "  History  of  Greece,"  and 
who  desire  a  history  of  Rome  on  a  similar  plan.     If  the 
book  meets  the  expectations  of  those  who  are  waiting  for 
it,  the  reason  will   be  that   friends   have  devoted  valuable 
time    and   experience    to    its    improvement.      Mr.   Charles 
Lane  Hanson  of  the  Mechanic  Arts  High  School,  Boston, 
to  whom  the  success  of  the  "  History  of  Greece  "  is  largely 
due,  has  given   me  the  same  efficient  aid  in   the   present 
work.     Mr.  S.  Percy  R.  Chadwick  of  Brewster  Free  Acad- 
emy has  contributed  suggestions  based  on  tests  made  in  the 
class-room.     Various  improvements  have  resulted  from  the 
reading   of  the   proofs    by   Professor    Egbert  of  Columbia 
University.     The  chapters  on  the  later  empire  have  been 
revised  in  the  proofs  by  Professor  Burr  of  Cdrnell  Univer- 
sity, to  whose   scholarship  important  corrections  are  due. 
Miss  Emily  F.  Paine  of  Miss  Spence's  School,  New  York, 
has  helped  select  the  illustrations,  and  has  given  me  useful 
notes  on  Roman  art.     My  wife  has  worked  with  me  on  the 
maps,  the  Index,  and  all  other  parts  of  the  book.     To  all 
these  friends  I  am  sincerely  grateful.     It  would  be  unjust, 
however,  to  hold  any  of  them  responsible  for  faults  which 
may  still  remain  in  the  work.      I  wish   also   to   thank   the 
President  of  The  Macmillan  Co.  for  his  kind  interest  in  the 

V 

160470 


vi  Acknowledgment 


a 


book,  Messrs.  Bormay  and  Co.  for  their  excellent  work  on 
the  maps,  and  Messrs.  J.  S.  Cushing  and  Co.  for  their 
patient  care  in  the  printing. 

In  the  quotation  of  ancient  authors  I  have  followed,  as 
closely  as  my  plan  would  admit,  the  translators  recom- 
mended in  the  Bibliography  at  the  close  of  the  volume. 
The  maps  and  pictures,  with  the  exception  of  nine  from 
books,  to  which  credit  is  given  in  the  list  of  illustrations, 
have  been  prepared  for  this  history.  Three  Etruscan  sub- 
jects are  from  photographs  in  the  Fogg  Art  Museum ;  the 
original  of  the  "  ^Edile  "  belongs  to  the  Department  of 
Classics  of  Harvard  University.  Miss  Paine  furnished  about 
twenty  subjects  from  her  private  collection,  and  the  remain- 
der I  purchased  abroad. 


PURPOSE 

This  book  is  similar  in  plan  to  the  "  History  of  Greece." 
It  aims  to  present  briefly  the  growth  of  Rome,  the  expan- 
sion and  organization  of  her  power,  the  development  and 
decline  of  the  imperial  system,  and  the  transformation  of 
the  ancient  pagan  empire  of  the  Romans  into  the  mediaeval 
Christian  empire  of  the  Germans.  The  narrative,  accord- 
ingly, extends  from  the  earliest  times  to  Charlemagne. 

The  treatment  of  the  early  constitution  rests  directly 
upon  the  sources,  which  uniformly  represent  the  plebeians 
as  citizens  and  the  patricians  as  their  leaders.  I  have 
avoided  mentioning  the  "concilium  tributum  plebis,"  as  I 
see  no  reason  for  believing  that  it  ever  had  more  than  a 
theoretical  existence.  The  view  of  the  constitution  which 
this  volume  presents,  and  to  which  scholars  are  now  return- 
ing, is  as  simple  and  natural  as  it  is  well  founded. 

Emphasis  is  placed  on  the  period  of  the  emperors  as  the 
time  during  which  Rome  stamped  her  character  upon  the 
history  of  the  world.  Attention  is  directed  not  so  much 
to  the  vices  and  intrigues  of  the  imperial  court  as  to  the 
progress  of  mankind  both  in  the  capital  and  in  the  prov- 
inces. Wars  are  treated  with  reference  to  their  influence 
on  the  current  of  history,  and  for  the  illustration  of  indi- 
vidual and  national  character.  The  admirer  of  Rome  need 
not  glorify  conquest  or   conceal  in   any  degree  the  failure 

vii 


viii  Purpose 

of  the  republic  to  govern  the  provinces.  Happily  the 
Romans  represented  something  better  than  city-sacking 
and  oppression.  As  organizers,  administrators,  and  builders 
they  were  greater  in  peace  than  in  war. 

The  pupil  who  wishes  to  digest  thoroughly  the  contents 
of  this  book  is  advised  to  use  the  "  Helps"  on  pages  353- 
381  ;  while  reading  a  chapter  he  should  work  out  the 
"  Studies "  which  belong  to  it,  and  analyze  the  principal 
subjects  in  topical  outlines  like  the  one  given  near  the  end 
of  the  volume.  In  tracing  the  history  of  persons  or  of  insti- 
tutions he  will  find  the  Index  useful.  He  ought  not  to 
content  himself  with  one  book,  however,  but  should  read 
and  compare  as  many  authorities  as  possible.  Studied  in 
this  way,  history  trains  the  whole  mind. 

Cambridge,  March  1,  1901. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    I 

IV.  P. 

The  People  and  the  Country  .......  I 

CHAPTER    II 
The  Beginnings  of  Rome — The  Prehistoric  Age  .  .  17 

CHAPTER    III 

Rome  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy.     First  Period  of  the  Republic  — 

External  History 3& 

CHAPTER   IV 

The  Plebeians  win  their  Rights.     First  Period  of  the  Republic  — 

Internal  History 66 

CHAPTER   V 

The    Expansion  of  the   Roman    Power.      Second   Period  of  the 

Republic  —  External  History 95 

CHAPTER   VI 

The  Growth  of  Plutocracy.     Second  Period  of  the  Republic  — 

Internal  History 129 

CHAPTER   VII 

The  Revolution — (I)   From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism  .         .         .      151 

CHAPTER   VIII 

The  Revolution — (II)   The  Military  Tower  in  Conflict  with  the 

Republic        .  *75 

ix 


Contents 


CHAPTER   IX 

The  Founding  of  the  Imperial  Government.      The  Dyarchy- 
The  Julian  Emperors 


204 


CHAPTER   X 

From  Dyarchy  to  Monarchy  —  The  Claudian  and  Flavian  Em- 


perors 


CHAPTER    XI 
The  Limited  Monarchy — The  Five  Good  Emperors    . 

CHAPTER   XII 
The  Growth  of  Absolute  Monarchy — From  Commodus  to  Con- 


225 


243 


stantine 


267 


CHAPTER   XIII 

The  Invasions  of  the  Barbarians  and  the  Fall  of  the  Empire  in 

the  West 289 


CHAPTER    XIV 
The  New  German  States  and  the  Empire  of  Charlemagne 

CHAPTER   XV 

The  Private  and  Social  Life  of  the  Romans  . 


3H 


335 


CHAPTER   XVI 


Helps  to  the  Study  of  Roman  History 
Example  of  a  Topical  Outline 
Studies.  .... 

Events  in  Chronological  Order 
Bibliography 


353 
353 
359 
366 

374 


In  mix &3 


MAPS    AND    ILLUSTRATIONS 


COLORED   MAPS 


Italy  before  the  Punic  Wars  —  For  Chapters  I-IV         .  before         I 

The  Vicinity  of  Rome  —  For  Chapters  I-1Y  .  "41 

The  Expansion  of  the  Roman  Power  to  the  Time  of  the  Gracchi 

—  For  Chapters  V,  VI  .         .  .         .         .         .  before       95 

The  Expansion  of  the   Roman    Power   from  the  Gracchi  to  the 

Death  of  Augustus  —  For  Chapters  YII-IX  .  .  before     129 

The  Roman  Empire  from  Augustus  to  Diocletian  —  For  Chapters 

X-XII  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         before     225 

The    Roman   Empire   under   Diocletian    and    Constantine  —  For 

Chapters  XII,  XIII before     281 

Charlemagne's  Empire  (From  Adams,  European.  History)  —  For 


Chapter  XIV 


before 


ill 


MAPS    IX   THE   TEXT 


The  Tribes  of  Italy  and  Sicily 

Early  Rome  .... 

Colonies  and  Military  Roads  of  Italy 

Imperial  Rome     .... 

The  Sacred  Way  .... 

Europe  about  525  a.d.  (From  Adams,  European  History) 


5 

35 

64 

213 

234 
3H 


FULL- PAGE   ILLUSTRATIONS 


A  Part  of  the  Roman  Forum  (restored) 

The  Fall  of  the  Anio 

The  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux 

The  Appian  Way 

Mounte  Ercte • 

A  Roman  Fleet  in  Harbor  (From  Rheinhard,  Album) 
Capri    ......••• 

The  Hall  of  the  Emperors 

xi 


Frontispiece 

facing         3 
"  42 

57 

"         101 

197 

"         221 


3°9 


Ml 


Maps  mid  Illustrations 


Church  of  San  Apollinare  Nuovo 

A  Bridge  over  the  Anio 

Bane    ...... 


ILLUSTRATIONS    IN   THE   TEXT 


An  Etruscan  Tomb 

Temple  of  Vesta  and  of  the  Sibyl 

An  Etruscan  War  God 

An  Etruscan  Vase 

A  Doric  Temple   .... 

<  Irotto  of  the  Sibyl 

A  Chimera    ..... 

Cinerary  Urns  representing  Primitive  1 
Household  Gods  .... 

Minerva        ..... 

A  Vestal  Virgin    .... 

The  Wall  of  Servius 

Cloaca  Maxima     .... 

Lucius  Junius  Brutus    . 

A  Roman  Helmet 

A  Proconsul  .... 

Curule  Chair  and  Easces  (From  Schrei 
Ceres  (restored  from  a  Juno  —  Hera) 
An  As  (From  Hill,  deck  and  Roman 
Apollo  with  a  Lyre 
/Lsculapius  ..... 

A  I  lenarius  (From  II  ill,  Greek  and  R> 
Venus  ...... 

Messana        ..... 

"Hannibal"         .... 

"Marcellus"         .... 

\  Scene  in  Macedonia 
A  Galatian  and  his  Wife 
Storming  a  City  (from  Rheinhard,  Alb 
A  Street  in  Pompeii 

Llile 

"  Publius  Cornelius  Scipio  Africanus" 
Sacrificing  a  Pig   .... 
A  Bacchante  .... 

Italian  Oxen 


oman  Huts 


ber,  / 
Coin 


um) 


Ulas) 
s)       . 

( 'oins ) 


TAC.E 

facing    313 

319 
346 


Maps  and  Illustrations 


xm 


G 


An  Old  Shepherdess      .... 
Youth  reading  at  a  Book-case  (From  Schrei 
An  Old  Fisherman         .... 
Roman  Soldiers  marching  (From  Rheinhard 

"Sulla" 

Pompey  the  Great         .... 

Cicero  ....... 

Julius  Caesar  ..... 

Cleopatra      ...... 

The  Pantheon       ..... 

Augustus       ...... 

The  Temple  of  Mars  the  Avenger 

Julia,  Daughter  of  Augustus,  and  her  sons, 

Tiberius         .         .  ■       . 

The  Palace  of  Caligula 

Claudius        ...... 

Agrippina,  Mother  of  Nero  . 

A  Triumphal  Procession  with  the  Seven  Go 

The  Colosseum  or  Flavian  Amphitheatre 

A  Body  found  at  Pompeii     . 

"Seneca"     ...... 

Xerva  ....... 

The  Column  of  Trajan  .... 

Plotina,  Wife  of  Trajan 

The  Mausoleum  of  Hadrian 

A  Roman  Bridge  .         ..... 

Marcus  Aurelius  in  his  Triumphal  Car  . 
Roman  Baths         ..... 

The  Triumphal  Arch  of  Septimius  Severus 
Septimius  Severus  .... 

Sarcophagus  of  Alexander  Severus  and  his 
The  Wall  of  Aurelian   . 
A  Capital  from  One  of  the  Temples  in  Pal 
Temple  of  the  Sun         .... 

The  Basilica  of  Constantine  . 

The  Triumphal  Arch  of  Constantine 

The  Roman  Forum        .... 

A  German  Village  (From  Adams,  Europea 
The  Baptism  of  Christ  .... 

The  Good  Shepherd     .... 

The  Mausoleum  of  Galla  Placidia 


her,  Atlas) 


Album ) 


aius  and 


en  Candlestic 


Mother 


mvra 


History) 


156 
160 

I65 
170 
172 
176 
181 
190 
198 
204 
206 

212 
217 
219 
222 
225 
228 
232 
236 

237 
241 

244 

246 

250 

253 
259 
261 
265 
267 
269 
273 

275 
277 

279 
284 
287 
289 
294 
296 
301 
304 


XIV 


Maps  and  Illustrations 


Falace  of  Theodoric 

Cathedral  of  St.  Sophia 

The  Iron  Crown  of  Lombardy 

Persian  Warriors  . 

A  Roman  and  his  Wife 

A  Fountain  .... 

House  Furniture  (From  Rheinhard,  Album 

Peristyle  of  a  House  in  Pompeii 

A  Well-curb  ... 

A  Roman  Meal  (From  Rheinhard,  Allium) 

A  Cinerary  Urn     . 

The  Hoy  Hercules 


PAGE 
311 
317 
329 

333 
335 
337 
339 
34i 
343 
345 
348 
35° 


A    HISTORY    OF    ROME 


An  Etruscan  Tomb 

(Near  Perugia,  Italy.) 


HISTORY   OF    ROME 


CHAPTER    I 


THE   PEOPLE   AND   THE   COUNTRY 

"  Others  better  may  mould  the  life-breathing  brass  of  the  image, 
And  the  living  features,  I  ween,  draw  from  the  marble,  and  better 
Argue    their    cause    in    the  court;     may   mete   out   the   span  of   the 

heavens; 
Mark  out  the  bounds  of  the  poles,  and  name  all  the  stars  in  their 

turnings? 
But  thou,  O  Roman,  remember  to  govern  the  tribes  of  thy  Empire : 
These  be  thine  arts  to  impose  the  conditions  of  peace  on  the  conquered, 
Sparing  the  captives  in  war,  and  crushing  the  haughty  in  battle." 

—  Vergil,  SEneid,  vi.  847-853. 

Our   story   begins    in    the    great    steppe   which    extends   The  Italians, 
across   southern   Russia  into  Asia  north  of  the  Black   and 
b  1 


The  People  and  the  Country 


P.  293. 


Cf.  the  settle- 
ment of 
Greece ; 
Botsford, 
( ireece, 
p.  1  ft. 


The 
Sabellians. 


Caspian  seas.  This  country  was  probably  the  early  home 
of  the  Aryans.1  Here  in  remote  ages  we  may  imagine 
them  roaming  about  in  search  of  pasture  for  their  flocks, 
or  building  huts  for  a  short  stay  in  the  more  fertile  dis- 
tricts. These  tribes,  or  races,  moved  farther  and  farther 
apart,  some  eastward  to  Persia  and  to  India,  others  to 
various  regions  of  Europe.  The  particular  race  whose 
story  we  are  to  follow  journeyed  to  the  peninsula  now 
known  as  Italy.  Apparently  they  came  by  land  from 
across  the  Alps.  Then  moving  gradually  through  the 
peninsula,  the  swarms  of  warriors,  with  their  women  and 
children  and  their  herds,  drove  before  them  or  subdued 
the  earlier  inhabitants,  and  fought  among  themselves  for 
the  best  lands,  while  alien  tribes  pressed  after  them  and 
continually  pushed  them  on.  In  this  way  they  came  to 
occupy  most  of  central  Italy.  As  they  were  to  be  the  chief 
race  of  the  peninsula,  we  shall  call  them  Italians. 

In  the  interior  of  their  narrow  country  they  found  the 
mountains  so  high  and  so  rugged  as  to  resemble  the  Alps. 
The  snowy  peaks  looked  down  into  gorges,  in  whose  depths 
wild  torrents  raged.  Dark  forests  covered  the  steep  slopes 
and  most  of  the  tabledands.  The  principal  Italian  settlers 
in  this  wild,  grand  region  were  the  Sabellians.  They 
cleared  a  few  spots  of  ground,  which  they  began  to  cul- 
tivate with  rude  tools  ;  they  roamed  the  woods  for  game 
or  watched  their  flocks  in  the  valleys.  Simple  in  their 
habits,  they  bore  both  labor  and  poverty  with  patience  ; 
for  they  saw  about  them  no  wealth  to  excite  their  envy, 
and  they  bent  their  necks  to  no  lord  or  hereditary  king. 
Themselves   masters  of  the  hills  and  the  forests,  at  home 


1  Aryan,  as  here  used,  is  equivalent  to  Indo-European.  For  a  classi- 
fication of  the  principal  races  of  Aryan  speech,  see  Botsford,  History 
of  Greece,  p.  331,  n.  1. 


\ 


The  Fall  >  >f  i  in   Amu 

(Tibur.) 


The  Sabellians  3 

they  were  free,  and  in  war  they  willingly  followed  the 
chief  of  their  choice.  Their  constant  struggle  with  the 
forces  of  nature,  with  savage  beasts  and  bold  enemies, 
made  them  grave,  stern,  and  intensely  religious.    ' 

The  Sabellians  did  not  form   one   state   in  the  modern   Sabeiiian 
sense,  but  each  mountain  valley  or  plateau  was  the  abode   £°vernmei 
of  a  tribe  with  its  own  independent  government.     All  the 
common  warriors  of  the  tribe  gathered  in  an  assembly  to   Cf.  the  Ger- 
elect   their  chief,   and    under    his    presidency,   to   vote    on      '   s' 
important  questions,  as  of  war  and   peace.     A  few  of  the 
old  men,  who  in  youth  had  been  most  valiant,  or  to  whom 
age  had  brought  most  wisdom,  met  in  a  senate,  or  council 
of  elders,  to  advise  and  assist  the  chief  in  his  duties,  and 
especially  to  point   out   to  him   the  will   of  the   gods   and 
the  means  of  securing  their  favor.     These  were  the  earliest 
political  institutions   of   the    Sabellians,  and  in   fact   of  all 
the  Italians,  —  the  crude  elements  from  which  the  Roman    P.  24  ff- 
constitution  was  to  grow. 

As  the  Sabellians  were  fond  of  war,  the  little  communi-   The  Sacred 
ties  were  constantly  fighting  with  one  another.     The  war- 
riors  enjoyed    nothing    so    much    as    raiding    an    adjoining 
tribe,   driving  off  the   cattle,    and    bringing  captive   young 
women  home  as  their  wives.      AVhen,  on  the   other  hand,    Strabo  v. 
a    people    became    so   numerous    that   the   land   no   longer   4'  I2' 
supported    them,    or    when    drouth    threatened   them   with 
famine,   they   resorted  to   a   custom   known   as  the  Sacred 
Spring,  —  that   is,    they   dedicated   all   the    products   of  a 
particular  spring  to  some  deity,  usually  Mars,  god  of  war. 
The  cattle   and   the   fruit   of  the   consecrated   season   they 
offered  in  sacrifice  to  the  god ;  the  sons  born  during  that 
time,   on    attaining    manhood,   dismissed    by    their    parents 
with    appropriate    ceremonies, .  wandered    away    under    the 
protection  of  the  god  to  whom  they  were  devoted ;   and 


The  People  and  the  Country 


The  Sabel- 
lians  are 
colonists 
from  Sabina. 


P.  49- 


The  Umbri- 
ans. 


P.-  8  f. 
The  Latins. 


guided  by  a  sacred  bird  or  beast,  —  a  woodpecker,  a  wolf, 
or  perhaps  a  bull,  —  sought  a  place  suitable  for  a  colony. 
This  they  seized,  killing,  driving  out  or  enslaving  the 
earlier  inhabitants.  Thus  the  Sabellians  constantly  won 
new  territory. 

The  parent  stock  of  this  race  is  said  to  have  been  the 
Sabines,  in  the  mountains  near  the  centre  of  the  peninsula. 
During  one  sacred  spring  they  sent  forth  a  host  of  youths, 
who  occupied  the  vast  mountainous  region  known  as  Sam- 
nium,  a  country  famous  in  Italian  history.  In  like  manner 
the  Marsians  —  sons  of  Mars  —  setting  out  from  Sabina,  set- 
tled nearer  the  mother  country.  Other  emigrants  from  the 
same  home  are  said  to  have  followed  a  woodpecker — picas — 
to  the  northeast,  where  they  occupied  the  country  between 
the  mountains  and  the  sea  and  called  themselves  Picen- 
tians  after  their  sacred  guide.  In  time  the  many  colonies  of 
the  Sabellians  covered  the  high  ranges  and  the  eastern  slopes 
of  central  Italy.  Bold  and  restless,  they  threatened  to  over- 
run even  the  west  and  the  extreme  south  of  the  peninsula. 

From  the  Umbrians,  their  kinsmen  on  the  north,  they 
had  nothing  to  fear.  For  these  people  were  somewhat 
more  civilized  and  consequently  more  attached  to  their 
homes  than  their  southern  neighbors.  As  the  Umbrians 
were  weak,  too,  from  lack  of  union  among  themselves, 
they  gradually  yielded  ground  to  the  vigorous,  intelligent 
Etruscans,  who  pressed  upon  their  northern  and  western 
borders.  It  was  rather  in  Latium,  a  small  country  on  the 
western  coast,  that  the  Sabellians  were  to  find  their  mortal 
foes.  This  was  a  flat  district  about  the  lower  Tiber,  extend- 
ing thence  to  the  southeast,  between  the  mountains  and  the 
sea,  as  far  perhaps  as  Tarracina.  Here  dwelt  the  Latins, 
an  Italian  tribe  related  to  the  Umbrians  and  the  Sabellians. 
On  account  of  their  fertile  fields  near  the  coast,  they  grew 


The  Latins 


5 


more  wealthy  and  more  refined  than  their  kinsmen  in  the 
interior.  As  far  back  as  our  record  goes,  the  mountaineers 
were  fighting  the  men  of  the  plain  ;  in  time  their  petty  wars 
were  to  culminate  in  a   long,  fierce  struggle  between  the 


-10 


"the  tribes 

OF 

ITALY  and  SICILY 

For  Chapter  I. 


ENGRAVED  BY  BORMAY   &    C0.:    N.Y. 


Latins  and  the  Samnites  for  the  control  of  Italy.     For  cen-    Pp. 40,51. 
turies   the   chief  interest   in   Italian  history  centres  in  this 
great  contest  between  the  civilized  people  of  the  plain  and 
the  barbarians  in  the  mountains. 


The  People  and  the  Country 


The  city- 
state. 


P.  8  ff. 


Botsford, 
Greece,  pp. 

20  f,  297. 


Cities  of 
Latium. 


Map,  p.  41. 

Dionysius  i. 
66 ;  Strabo  v. 
3-  13- 


Originally  all  the  Italians  had  the  same  customs  and  fol- 
lowed the  same  modes  of  life.  In  the  earliest  times  they 
built  no  cities,  but  grouped  their  huts  in  small  villages.  As 
there  was  constant  danger  from  invading  enemies,  neighbor- 
ing villages  joined  in  fortifying  some  convenient  hilltop  with 
a  wall  of  earth  or  of  rough  stones.  To  this  refuge  the  vil- 
lagers fled  on  the  approach  of  an  enemy.  Here,  too,  they 
met  to  hold  religious  festivals  and  to  talk  with  one  another 
on  matters  of  common  interest.  As  they  came  in  time  to 
have  a  chief,  a  senate,  and  an  assembly  of  their  own,  they 
began  to  pay  less  heed  to  the  tribe  of  which  they  formed  a 
part.  Finally  when,  under  favorable  conditions,  the  leading 
men  of  the  villages  had  acquired  considerable  property  and 
had  learned  from  foreigners  the  advantages  of  good  houses 
and  of  settled  homes,  they  took  up  their  abode  within  the 
wall  on  the  hilltop.  The  city  which  thus  grew  up  within 
the  tribe  enjoyed  complete  independence.  We  call  it  the 
city-state  to  distinguish  it  from  the  earlier  tribal  state  based 
on  the  bond  of  blood  and  from  the  territorial  state  of  the 
present  day. 

While  the  Sabellians  and  most  of  the  Umbrians  continued 
to  live  in  villages,  cities  were  growing  up  in  Latium,  gener- 
ally on  the  spurs  of  the  mountains  which  bordered  the  plain. 
Prominent  among  them  was  Alba  Longa,  on  a  long  ridge, 
high  above  the  sea  level.  On  one  side  of  the  city  towered 
the  Alban  Mount ;  on  the  other  was  a  lake  in  the  crater  of 
an  extinct  volcano.  Mountain  and  lake  helped  defend  the 
city  from  enemies  ;  the  slopes  and  plains  below  were  beauti- 
ful to  the  eye  and  rich  in  the  produce  of  all  sorts  of  fruit. 
In  this  city  thirty  Latin  communities  held  an  annual  festival, 
in  which  they  sacrificed  an  ox  to  Jupiter,  their  chief  deity. 
In  brief,  Alba  Longa  was  head  of  the  Latin  League.  Set- 
ting out  from  Alba  to  the  northeast,  we  soon  come  to  Prae- 


Rome 


neste,  one  of  the  strongest  places  in  Latium ;  "for  its 
citadel  was  a  lofty  mountain  which  overhung  the  town,  and 
there  were  secret  passages  beneath  the  earth  connecting  Strabo  v.  3. 
the  city  with  the  plain."  From  Praeneste  we  may  follow  II- 
the  mountain  range  northwestward  to  Tibur,  another  well- 
fortified  city  in  a  remarkably  beautiful  situation.  Near 
by,  the  Anio  falls  from  a  great  height  into  a  deep,  wooded   id. 


Temple  of  Vesta  and  of  the  Sibyl 

(Tibur.) 


ravine,  above  which  still  stand  the  ruins  of  two  very  ancient 
temples. 

Without  noticing  the  other  cities  of  the  hills,  let  us  descend  Rome, 
into  the  plain  along  the  Anio  to  the  Tiber.  Here  and  there 
the  flat  country  is  dotted  with  hillocks  or  streaked  with 
ridges.  It  appears  that  ages  ago  volcanoes,  then  active  in 
the  ranges  above,  scattered  all  these  heaps  over  the  plain. 
On  the  left  bank  of  the  Tiber,  about  fourteen  miles  from  its 
mouth,  we  come  down  upon  a  group  of  hills  which  the  vol- 


8 


The  People  and  the   Country 


The  Etrus- 
cans. 


canoes  had  helped  form  with  showers  of  ashes,  sand,  and 
stone.  As  the  people  on  both  banks  of  the  lower  Tiber 
needed  a  place  of  refuge,  they  selected  one  of  these  hills  — 
the  Palatine  —  and  fortified  the  top  with  a  wall  of  volcanic 
stone  quarried  on  the  spot.  In  time  the  enclosure  became 
a  city-state  and  was  named  Rome.  The  district  which 
belonged  to  this  Palatine  city  lay  on  both  sides  of  the  Tiber 
between   its    mouth    and    the    Anio,    and    included    about 

a  hundred  square 
miles.  It  was  as  low 
and  flat  as  any  part 
of  Latium.  To  un- 
derstand the  history 
of  Rome,  we  must 
first  try  to  discover 
what  she  learned  of 
her  neighbors,  the 
Etruscans  and  the 
Greeks. 

North  of  Latium, 
between  the  Tiber 
and  the  Tyrrhenian 
Sea,  was  Ktruria,  a 
country  rich  in  natu- 
ral resources  —  quar- 
ries of  white  and 
green  marble,  forests 
of  tall,  straight  trees 
for  building,  lakes 
which  watered  the 
fertile  lands  and 
teemed  with  fish. 
An  Etruscan  War-Gop  Evep   the    rushes  on 


The  Etruscans  9 

the  shores,  in  which  flocks  of  aquatic  birds  made  their 
nests,  could  be  used  as  material  for  the  arts.  In  addition 
to  this  country,  so  favored  by  nature,  the  Etruscans  pos- 
sessed a  still  more  fertile  territory  in  the  Po  valley,  which 
lies  north  of  Etruria.  Warlike  and  aggressive  they  threat- 
ened Latiurn,  possibly  they  conquered  it ;  at  all  events 
they  overran  and  settled  Campania,  the  coast  country 
southeast  of  Latium,  founded  colonies  in  Sardinia  and  in 
Corsica,  and  with  their  warships  controlled  the  Tyrrhenian 
sea,  which  washes  the  west  coast  of  Italy.  For  a  time  they 
were  the  most  powerful  and  the  most  ambitious  race  in  the 
peninsula. 

Who  they  were  or  whence  they  came  we  do  not  know;  Their  civili- 
and  though  they  left  abundant  inscriptions,  no  one  of  the 
moderns  has  yet  learned  to  read  their  language.  When  we 
first  hear  of  them  they  were  far  in  advance  of  the  Italians  in 
all  that  relates  to  the  security,  the  comfort,  and  the  refine- 
ment of  life.  They  made  vases  and  sculptures ;  they  paved 
roads,  dug  canals  for  drainage  and  irrigation,  and  on  steep 
and  lofty  hills  they  built  massive  walls,  strong  towers,  and 
arched  gateways.  From  city  life,  based  on  skilled  industry 
and  commerce,  arose  sharp  distinctions  between  rich  and 
poor,  between  nobles  and  commons.  From  the  labor  of 
the  poor  the  lords  lived  in  pomp  and  luxury,  and  built 
splendid  palaces  and  tombs.  They  based  their  power  on 
religion,  —  whose  mysterious  precepts  were  hid  in  the  holy  Their  re- 
books  of  Tages.  Springing  forth  from  a  ploughman's  fur-  hsion- 
row,  this  hideous  dwarf  had  given  the  Etruscan  seers  their 
sacred  laws,  to  whose  commands  the  common  people  bowed 
reverently. 

"  There  be  thirty  chosen  prophets, 
The  wisest  of  the  land, 
Who  always  with  Lars  Porsena 
Both  morn  and  evening  stand  : 


IO 


The  People  and  the  Country 


Macaulay, 
"  Horatius," 
in  Lays  of  An- 
cient Rome. 


Their  gift  to 
the  Italians. 


Evening  and  morn  the  Thirty 

Have  turned  the  verses  o'er, 
Traced  from  the  right  on  linen  white 

By  mighty  seers  of  yore." 

Their  religious  temper  owed  much  to  the  nature  of  the 
country,  —  a  volcanic  region  disturbed  by  subterranean  rum- 
blings, shaken  by  superhuman  forces,  which  awed  the  inhabit- 
ants and  led  them  to  study  those  rites  which  satisfy  and  calm 

the  mighty  de- 
mons beneath  the 
earth  and  in  the 
burning  hills.  A 
melancholy  peo- 
ple, they  probed 
to  its  depths  the 
gloom  and  terror 
of  natural  reli- 
gion ;  they  de- 
lighted in  hu- 
man sacrifices,  in 
scenes  of  agony 
and  of  death. 

Though  the  be- 
ginnings and  the 
general  character 
of  this  civiliza- 
tion were  native, 
the  Etruscans  ad- 
mired and  imi- 
tated the  products  of  Greek  skill ;  and  in  turn  they  gave 
the  Italians  methods  of  divination,  examples  of  fortified 
cities,  the  trappings  and  ceremonies  of  royalty,  and  forms 
of  architecture  for  sewers,  walls,  dwellings,  and  temples. 


IffllllP 

■lllllln/////// 

A\  l'.i  ri  man  Vase 


The  Greeks  in  Italy 


1 1 


It  was  destined,  however,  that  as  teachers  of  the  Italians,  The  Greeks 
the  Etruscans  should  in  the  end  be  outrivalled  by  the  more 
virile  Greeks,  who  about  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century 
b.c.  began  to  settle  the  shores  of  southern  Italy  and  of 
Sicily.  Beneath  a  sunny  sky  they  found  fields  of  verdure 
sprinkled  with  gayly  colored  flowers  —  a  delightful  contrast 


A  Doric  Temple 

(Metapontum,  Southern  Italy.) 


to  the  stony  soil  and  naked  hills  of  the  mother    country. 
Their    thriving    colonies  soon  lined  the  Italian  coast  from 
Dorian   Tafentum    on   the   southeast  to  Chalcidian  Cumae 
on  the  west.     With  them  came  the  gods  of  Greece,  who 
demanded  of   their  worshippers  athletic  contests,  graceful 
processions;  the  song  and  the  dance,  beautiful  statues  and    Magna 
temples.     While  agriculture,  commerce,  and  skilled  indus-    Botsford 
try  flourished  in  "  Great  Greece,"  as  these  collective  settle-    Greece,  pp. 
ments  were  called,  philosophy  and  codes  of  law  were  the    3° 


Cumae. 


12 


The  People  and  the  Country 


best  intellectual  products.  In  the  arts  of  peace  and  war 
the  Greeks  were  teachers  of  the  natives,  and  found  in  the 
Latins  their  aptest  pupils. 

The  centre  from  which  Greek  culture  extended  to  Latium 
was  Cumae,  mentioned  above,  reputed  the  oldest  Greek 
colony   in  Italy.     It  was   in   a   region  of  volcanoes  which 


Grotto  of  the  SiB'i  i. 

(Cumse.) 


Vergil, 
/Eneid,  vi. 

237. 


suggested  the  presence  of  supernatural  powers.  In  the 
neighborhood  was  a  cave  with  a  hundred  mouths,  the  abode 
of  the  Sibyl,  Apollo's  prophetess,  who  wrote  her  oracles  on 
leaves.  Near  by  was  another  cave  deep  and  hideous,  over 
which  no  birds  were  able  to  wing  their  way  unhurt  because 
of  the  vapors  issuing  from  its  grim  jaws.     This  men  believed 


Form  of  Italy  13 

to  be  the  gate  to  the  realm  of  Hades.  From  the  city,  so 
rich  in  local  myths,  the  worship  of  Apollo  and  the  mys- 
terious art  of  writing  connected  with  it,  made  their  way 
to  Latium  and  to  Rome.  The  traveller,  standing  on  the 
acropolis  of  Cumae,  now  sees  about  him  nothing  but  vine- 
yards, which  hide  the  ruins  of  her  theatre  and  her  walls  ; 
but  before  she  perished  the  light  of  her  civilization  had 
accompanied  Apollo  to  Rome. 

The  Italians,  the  Etruscans,  and  the  Greeks  were  the  Summary  of 
chief  peoples  of  Italy.  Next  in  importance  were  the  Gauls,  the  races- 
who  toward  the  end  of  the  sixth  century  B.C.  began  to  cross 
the  Alps  and  to  settle  in  the  valley  of  the  Po.  Other  races 
of  still  less  importance  need  not  concern  us  here.1  From 
the  mingling  of  these  various  peoples  time  was  to  bring  forth 
a  strong,  energetic  nation. 

One  reason  for  the  political    union  of   so  many  diverse    Italy  is  long 
peoples  was  that  the  character  and  situation  of  the  country   an   narrow- 
exposed  it  to  attack  on  all  sides.     Largely  a  peninsula,  Italy 
is  extremely  long  in  proportion  to  its  breadth  ;  and  near  it 
in  every  direction  are  foreign  lands,  from  which  enemies 
can   easily   come.     The   Alps,   those   icy  giants   marshalled 
for  the  protection  of  the  northern  border,  have  often  failed 
in  their  duty,  and  the  surrounding  seas  have  been  the  highway 
of  the  invader.     Feeling  the  weakness  of  her  position,  Italy   Political  re- 
overcame  it  by  union  under  Rome,  her  strongest  city.     The 
same   geographical    conditions  explain  another    fact :   even 
when  united^  the  country  was  unsafe  while  the  neighboring 
nations  remained  free   to    assail  it ;    and  thus    it   was   that 
motives  of  self-preservation  forced   Rome,  as  the  head  of    P.  97. 
the  peninsula,  into  her  career  of  foreign  conquest. 

1  There  were  the  Iapygians  in  the  heel  of  the  peninsula,  the  Vene- 
tians, their  kinsmen,  at  the  head  of  the  Adriatic  Sea,  and  the  Ligurians 
in  the  west  of  Italy  opposite  Venetia. 


14 


The  People  and  the  Country 


Italy  faces 
the  west. 


Looking  at  a  map  of  the  country,  we  see  that  mountain 


Great  variety 
of  climate 
and  soil. 


ranges  ■ 


•  the    Apennines  —  extending 


through    the 


whole 


Duruy, 
Rome,  i.  p.  37. 


length  of  the  peninsula,  lie  for  the  most  part  near  the  eastern 
shore.  This  makes  the  eastern  slopes  abrupt,  the  rivers 
short,  the  coast  rarely  broken  by  harbors.  On  the  west  the 
slopes  are  more  gentle,  terminating  in  broad,  fertile  plains 
traversed  by  navigable  rivers  and  well  supplied  with  bays. 
In  brief,  the  country  is  closed  to  the  East  and  open  to  the 
West.  Turning  her  back  upon  the  East  with  its  luxury,  its 
vice,  and  its  decaying  life,  Italy  faced  the  fresh  vital  nations 
of  the  West,  and  found  her  chief  interest  in  giving  them  her 
institutions.  It  was  from  contact  with  the  civilizing  influence 
of  Rome  that  the  vigorous  races  of  central  and  western 
Europe  developed  into  modern  nations.  There  is  reason, 
then,  for  looking  upon  the  Romans  as  the  last  of  the  ancients 
and  the  first  of  the  moderns. 

In  addition  to  these  far-reaching  political  effects,  the 
Apennines  have  always  promoted  the  well-being  and  happi- 
ness of  Italian  life  ;  for  in  every  section  of  the  peninsula  the 
people  enjoy  the  products,  the  climate,  and  the  scenery  of 
the  mountains  as  well  as  of  the  plains  on  the  seaside.  It  is 
"  a  land  of  continual  contrasts  :  plains  and  mountains,  snow 
and  scorching  heat,  dry  gorges  and  raging  torrents,  limpid 
lakes  formed  in  ancient  craters,  and  pestilential  marshes 
concealing  beneath  the  herbage  once  populous  cities.  At 
every  step  a  contrast :  the  vegetation  of  Africa  at  the  foot 
of  the  Apennines ;  on  their  summits  the  vegetation  of  the 
North.  Here,  under  the  clear  sky,  the  malaria,  bringing 
death  in  one  night  to  the  sleeping  traveller  ;  there,  lands  of 
inexhaustible  fertility,  and  above,  the  volcano  with  its 
threatening  lava.  .  .  .  every  climate,  every  property  of  the 
soil  combined,  —  in  short,  a  reduced  picture  of  the  ancient 
world." 


The  Best  Country  in  the  Ancient    World       15 

"  In  my  opinion,"  says  an  ancient  Greek  writer  on  Roman  The  best 
history,  "  Italy  surpasses  even  such  fruitful  countries  as  ^^nt m  ^ 
Egypt  and  Babylonia ;  for  I  look  upon  that  country  as  the  world, 
best  which  stands  least  in  need  of  foreign  commodities. 
Now  I  am  persuaded  that  Italy  enjoys  this  universal  fertility 
beyond  all  other  countries  of  the  world.  For  it  contains  a  Dionvsius  i. 
great  deal  of  good  arable  land,  without  wanting  pastures  and  f*~?&, 
forests,  and  abounds,  I  may  say,  in  delights  and  advantages. 
Unparalleled  are  the  plains  of  Campania,  which  yield  three 
crops  a  year,  bringing  to  perfection  the  winter,  summer, 
and  autumnal  grain ;  peerless  are  the  olive  grounds  of 
the  Messapians  and  the  Sabines ;  peerless  the  vineyards 
of  Etruria  and  Alba,  where  the  soil  is  wonderfully  kind  to 
vines.  Then  there  are  pastures  for  sheep,  goats,  horses, 
and  neat  cattle ;  there  are  the  marsh  grasses,  wet  with 
dew,  and  the  meadow  grasses  of  the  hills,  all  growing  in 
untilled  places.  I  cannot  help  admiring  the  forests  full 
of  all  kinds  of  trees,  which  supply  timber  for  ships  and 
houses.  All  these  materials  are  ready  at  hand,  for  the  coast 
is  near,  and  there  are  many  rivers  which  water  the  land  and 
make  easy  the  exchange  of  everything  the  country  produces. 
Hot  water  springs,  also,  have  been  discovered  in  many 
places,  affording  pleasant  baths  and  cures  for  chronic  sick- 
ness. There  are  mines  of  various  sorts,  plenty  of  beasts  for 
hunting,  and  a  variety  of  sea-fish,  besides  other  things  innu- 
merable, some  useful  and  others  worthy  of  admiration. 
But  the  most  advantageous  of  all  is  the  happy  temper  of 
the  air,  suiting  itself  to  every  season.  So  that  neither  the  for- 
mation of  fruits  nor  the  constitution  of  animals  is  in  the  least 
injured  by  excessive  cold  or  heat.  No  wonder,  then,  that 
the  ancients,  seeing  this  country  abounding  with  universal 
plenty,  dedicated  the  mountains  and  woods  to  Pan  ;  the 
meadows  and  green  lawns  to  the  nymphs;  the  shores  and 


1 6  The  People  and  the  Country 

islands  to  the  sea-gods  ;  and  every  delightful  place  to  its 
appropriate  deity  !  " 

Sources 

Reading.  Modern  maps,  geographies,  and  books  of  travel,     An  ancient  source 

for  the  country  and  ils  people  is  Strabo,  Geography,  v,  vi.  Dionysius 
of  Halicarnassus,  Roman  Antiquities,  i,  gives  much  interesting  infor- 
mation concerning  the  early  races  and  their  mythical  history.  Much, 
too,  may  be  gathered  from  brief  references  in  various  ancient  writings. 
Cf.  Botsford,  The  Story  of  Rome  as  Greeks  and  Romans  tell  it,  ch.  1 
(a  book  of  descriptive  and  narrative  sources). 

Modern  Works 

(i)  Geography:  How  and  Leigh,  History  of  Rome,  ch.  i  ;  Shuck - 
burgh,  History  of  Rome,  ch.  ii  ;  Duruy,  History  of  Rome,  i.  pp.  17-43  ; 
Freeman,  Historical  Geography  of  Europe,  text  and  atlas  (valuable 
for  the  expansion  of  the  Roman  power) ;  Tozer,  Classical  Geography 
(primer)  ;  History  of  Ancient  Geography,  chs.  xi-xvi  ;  Kiepert,  Manual 
of  Ancient  Geography. 

(2)  Archaeology,  Art,  and  Guide-books:  Lanciani,  Ruins  and 
Excavations  of  Ancient  Rome  (useful)  ;  Ancient  Rome  in  the  Light  of 
Recent  Discoveries ;  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome;  Destruction  of 
Ancient  Rome;  Middleton,  Remains  of  Ancient  Rome,  2  vols.; 
Boissier,  Rome  and  Pompeii ;  Dyer,  The  City  of  Rome,  its  Vicissi- 
tudes and  Monuments  from  its  Foundation  to  the  End  of  the  Middle 
Ages;  Freeman,  Historical  Essays,  ii :  Primaeval  Archoeology  of  Rome  ; 
Durm,  Baulc unst  der  R'omer  ;  Choisy,  L'Art  de  Batir  chez  les  Remains  ; 
Arndt,  Denkmaler  der  griechischen  und  r'dmischeu  Sculptur  (valuable 
for  the  plates,  but  expensive);  Wickhoff,  Roman  Art:  Some  of  its 
Principles  and  their  Application  to  Early  Christian  Painting;  Reber, 
History  of  Ancient  Art :  Etruria  and  Rome  ;  Burn,  Roman  Literature 
in  Relation  to  Roman  Art ;  Crawford,  Ave  Roma  Immortalis,  2  vols.  ; 
Dennie,  Rome  of  To-day  and  Yesterday;  Forbes,  Rambles  in  Rome; 
Hare,  Walks  in  Rome,  2  vols.  ;  Days  near  Rome,  2  vols.  ;  Baedeker, 
Northern  Italy  ;    Central  Italy  ;  Southern  Italy. 

(3)  The  People  :  Shuckburgh,  ch.  iii  ;  How  and  Leigh,  ch.  ii  ; 
Mommsen,  History  of  Rome,  bk.  I.  chs.  i-iii  ;  Duruy,  i.  pp.  44-135  ; 
Nissen,  Italische  Landeshttnde  (country  and  people). 


jflPli 

3^               ^H%NflHil^&^^ f * 

§&*     ^9  B 

A  Chimera 

(Etruscan  Archaeological  Museum,  Florence.) 


CHAPTER    II 


THE   BEGINNINGS   OF   ROME  — THE   PREHISTORIC   AGE 

(TO    509     B.C.) 

When   the    Greeks    had    taken   Troy   by  means   of  the  Myth  of  the 
wooden  horse    and  were   slaying   the   inhabitants,  ^Eneas,   ^  j£neSLS 
son  of  Anchises  and  of  Venus,  goddess  of  love,  escaped  by 
sea  together  with  many  followers.     And  though  the  angry  Vergil, 
Tuno  threatened  him  with  storms  and  beset  his  path  with  ^neid^l 

J  _  1.  1  f;  D10- 

trials  and  .dangers,  his  goddess  mother  guided  him   safely  nysjus ;.  46- 
through  every  peril  and  brought  him  after  many  wanderings  64;  Plutarch, 

Romulus. 

to  a  haven  on  the  west  coast  of  fair  Italy.  There  he  landed 
and  began  to  build  a  city.  He  allied  himself  with  Latinus, 
king  of  the  country,  married  Lavinia,  the  king's  daughter, 
and  named  the  new  city  Lavinium,  after  his  bride. 

Trojans  and  natives  lived  together  in  peace,  all  taking  the 
c  17 


i8 


The  Beginnings  of  Rome 


Myth  of  Rom- 
ulus and 
Remus. 


Livy  i.  3-8  ; 
Dionysius  i. 
70-84. 


P.  29. 


P.  8. 


Myth  of  the 
founding  of 
Rome,  753 
B.C.  (?). 


Livy  i.  6-8. 


Criticism  of 
the  myth. 


name  of  Latins  after  their  king,  who  was  slain  somewhat  later 
and  was  succeeded  by  ^Eneas.  The  next  king  was  Asca- 
nius,  son  of  ^Eneas,  who  founded  Alba  Longa.  Many  gen- 
erations afterward  Amulius  wickedly  expelled  his  brother 
Numitor  from  the  kingship  and  himself  usurped  the  throne. 
He  had  Numitor's  son  assassinated  and  compelled  Rhea, 
the  daughter,  to  become  a  Vestal  virgin  that  she  might  not 
marry  and  bring  forth  an  avenger  of  the  family's  wrongs. 
However,  she  bore  to  JVIars,  god  of  war,  twin  sons  of  more 
than  human  size  and  beauty.  Set  adrift  on  the  Tiber  by 
order  of  the  king,  they  were  cast  ashore  near  Mount  Pala- 
tine, and  would  have  perished  had  not  a  she-wolf  nursed 
them  till  they  were  taken  up  and  cared  for  by  a  shepherd 
of  that  region.  When  they  had  grown  to  manhood,  they 
killed  Amulius,  and  restored  Numitor,  their  grandfather,  to 
the  throne. 

With  the  king's  consent  the  twin  brothers  led  a  colony 
to  the  place  where  they  had  passed  their  youth  ;  but  they 
quarrelled  as  to  who  should  be  the  founder.  When  they 
scanned  the  sky  for  an  omen  of  the  divine  will,  six  vultures, 
birds  of  Jupiter,  appeared  to  Remus,  but  twelve  were  seen 
by  Romulus,  who  thereupon  founded  the  city  on  Mount 
Palatine.  This  he  did  by  tracing  a  quadrangular  space 
about  the  hill  with  a  plough  drawn  by  a  yoke  of  cattle. 
Remus,  however,  in  derision,  leaped  the  half-finished  wall, 
exclaiming,  "  Methinks  any  of  your  enemies  might  leap  this 
as  easily  as  T  do."  Then  Romulus,  or  one  of  his  men, 
replying,  "  But  any  of  us  might  easily  chastise  that  enemy," 
struck  and  killed  him  with  a  pickaxe. 

Among  the  many  stories  of  the  founding  of  Rome,  this 
is  the  one  which  came  to  be  generally  believed.  The 
Romans  wanted  to  connect  their  history  with  that  of  the 
country  from  which    they  had  derived   their  culture ;    and 


The  Sabine    Women  19 

the  active  imagination  of  the  Greeks  readily  supplied  the 
need  by  the  myth  as  told  above.  In  fact  no  one  knows  by 
whom  or  under  what  circumstances  Rome  was  founded. 
It  was  not,  however,  a  colony  of  Alba  Longa,  but  merely  p.  6. 
one  of  several  Latin  towns.  The  traditional  date  of  found- 
ing, 753  B.C.,  is  also  a  fiction. 

When  Romulus  had  founded  Rome,  as  the  myth  asserts,   Myth  of  the 
he  became  the  first  king  of  the  city,  and  gave  his  people   women. 
laws   and    a  constitution.     In    the  original  settlement    few 
women   had  taken   part;    the  men   therefore  were  anxious    Livyi.  9;  Plu- 
to secure  wives  from  the  surrounding  communities.     Romu-   'arc  '     ""' 

°  /US,   14  IT. 

lus  accordingly  exhibited  games,  to  which  many  neighbors, 
including  the  Sabines,  came  by  invitation.  Now  while  they 
were  watching  the  games,  at  a  given  signal  the  Romans 
rushed  upon  the  Sabines  and  seizing  their  daughters  carried 
them  off  as  wives,  each  bringing  one  to  his  own  home.  To 
avenge  this  wrong,  Titus  Tatius,  king  of  the  Sabines,  marched 
with  his  army  against  Rome,  and  joined  battle  with  Romulus 
in  the  valley  below  the  Palatine  afterward  occupied  by  the 
Forum,  or  market-place.  During  a  pause  in  the  fray  the 
captive  daughters  of  the  Sabines,  rushing  between  their 
fathers  and  their  husbands,  entreated  them  to  cease  from 
war  and  be  forever  friends.  Their  prayers  prevailed;  and 
though  the  Sabines  dwelt  henceforth  on  the  Quirinal  Hill, 
north  of  the  Palatine,  they  came  under  one  government 
with  the  Romans,  and  were  ruled  conjointly  by  Romulus 
and  Tatius'.  This  dual  reign  lasted  till  the  death  of  the 
Sabine  restored  the  whole  power  to  the  original  Roman 
king. 

The  first  part  of  this  myth  is  an  attempt  to  explain  the   criticism  of 
origin  of  marriage  by  capture,  a  custom  older  than  Rome 
and  prevalent  in  many  countries  besides  Italy ;  the  second 
part  refers  to  an  historical  event,  —  the  union  of  the  Latin 


20 


The  Beginnings  of  Rome 


Myth  of  Tul- 
lus  Hostilius 
and  of  Ancus 
Martius. 


community  on  the  Palatine  with  a  later,  possibly  Sabine, 
community  on  the  Quirinal.  This  union  greatly  increased 
the  area  and  population  of  the  city.  While  Rome  was 
growing  on  the  hills,  she  was  extending  her  territory  in  the 
plains  at  her  feet.  In  myth,  Tullus  Hostilius,  the  third 
king,  conquered  and  destroyed  Alba  Longa,  annexed  her 
territory,  and  removed  the  people  to  Rome,  where  he  set- 
tled them  on  the  Caslian  Hill.     Following  the  example  of 


Cinerary  Urns  Representing  Primitive  Roman  Huts 

(Vatican  Museum  ;   found  in  the  ancient  cemetery  at  Alba  Longa.) 


Cicero,  Re- 
public, ii. 
17  f ;  Livy  i. 
22-35. 


Criticism  of 
the  myths. 


Romulus  he  admitted  the  Alban  commons  to  citizenship 
and  enrolled  the  leading  men  among  the  nobles.  Ancus 
Martius,  the  fourth  king,  still  further  enlarged  the  Roman 
domain,  founded  Ostia,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber,  to 
be  a  seaport  to  his  city,  and  fortified  Mount  Janiculum, 
across  the  Tiber,  as  an  outpost  against  the  Etruscans. 
Though  all  the  kings  are  probably  mythical,  the  stories, 
however  misleading   in   detail,   indicate    in    a   general   way 


Early  Life  ou  the  Palatine  21 

the  manner  in  which  Rome  grew  and  the  character  of  her 
institutions. 

The  earliest  dwellers  on  the  Palatine  lived  in  rude  wooden   Early  life  on 
houses  covered  with  straw,  each  containing  a  single  room.       e         ine' 
They  used  flint,  bone,  and  bronze  tools  and  weapons,  and 
ate  from  coarse  earthenware  dishes.     The  wealthier  families 
built  more   substantial   dwellings  and  imported    finer  ware    Lanciani, 
from   Etruria.     Adjoining  each   hut  were   a  garden   and   a   Ruun  a"d 

Excavations, 

sheepfold,  to  which  in  the  evening  the  shepherd  drove  his   p.  IIOff. 

little  flock  through  the  Gate  of  Bellowing  —  Porta  Mugonia 

—  from  the  pasture-lands  outside  the  city  ;.  -in  the  evening 

the  peasants  whose  farms  were    near  returned  home  from 

their  labors  in  the  fields  below,  for  no  one  wished  to  pass 

the  night  in  the  unhealthful  plains  ;  and  maidens  brought 

on  their  heads  jars' of  fresh  water  from  the  springs  in  the 

valley  below  the  Porta  Romanula.    With  the  human  inmates 

of  the  house  abode  the  spirits  of  the  hearth  and  pantry,  and 

in  the  temples  men  worshipped  gods  who  had  no  images. 

Such  was  the  simple  life  of  early  Rome. 

Gradually  the    population  outgrew  the  space  within  the    Growtnofthe 
Palatine  walls,  and  several  suburbs  sprang  up  in  the  vicin-   C1  y' 
ity.      Then    the    king   took    possession    of    the    Capitoline    Livyi.  9-14. 
Mount  and  established  his  citadel  on  its  northern  summit. 
A  reason  for  the  growth  of  the  city  may  be  found  in  the  fact 
that  the  Romans  welcomed  strangers  and  freely  bestowed 
the  citizenship,  as  it  increased  their  military  strength  in  the 
wars    they    were    constantly    waging    with    their    neighbors. 
Their  force  was  perhaps  nearly  doubled  by  their  union  with 
the   community  on  the    Quirinal    referred    to  in  the    myth 
above.     We  shall  now  see  how  the  people  lived  in  the  city 
thus  enlarged. 

As  Rome  was  well  situated  for  small  trade  with  the  Etrus- 
cans and  other  neighbors,  some  of  the  citizens  engaged  in 


22 


The  Beginnings  of  Rome 


The  occupa- 
tions and  the 
character  of 
the  Romans. 

Plutarch, 
Numa,  17. 


P.  40  f. 


Livy  i.  58. 

The  family. 

P-  335- 

I  tionysius  ii, 
24-27. 


making  wares  and  in  buying  and  selling.  From  early  times 
there  were,  accordingly,  guilds  of  coppersmiths,  goldsmiths, 
dyers,  curriers,  and  others,  each  with  its  patron  god  and 
place  of  assembly.  Myth  ascribes  the  founding  of  these 
societies  to  Numa,  successor  of  Romulus.  Most  of  the 
Romans,  however,  were  peasants.  The  farmer,  clad  simply 
in  a  woollen  tunic,  or  shirt,  which  reached  the  knee,  fol- 
lowed his  bronze-shod  plough  drawn  by  a  yoke  of  cattle. 
His  narrow  mind  held  only  sober,  practical  ideas ;  for  he 
saw  nothing  of  the  world  beyond  the  mountains  bordering 
the  plain  of  the  Tiber,  —  mountains  which  inspired  him 
with  no  love  of  the  beautiful  and  the  grand,  but  rather  with 
a  feeling  of  hatred  for  the  enemies  who  were  wont  to  sweep 
down  from  them  upon  his  little  field.  His  laborious  life,  his 
warfare  against  famine,  pestilence,  and  neighbors  who  were 
always  harassing  made  him  stern  and  harsh,  and  even  in  his 
dealing  with  the  gods,  calculating  and  illiberal.  Though 
love,  pity,  and  benevolence  found  little  place  in  his  heart, 
he  was  strong  in  the  more  heroic  virtues,  —  he  was  digni- 
fied, brave,  and  energetic ;  he  reverenced  the  gods  and 
the  forefathers,  and  obeyed  the  laws  ;  above  all,  he  was 
a  man  of  his  word.  'With  these  great  qualities,  his  high- 
est aspiration  was  to  be  a  good  ploughman  ;  the  chaste 
Lucretia  spinning  wool  till  late  at  night  was  his  ideal 
woman. 

The  simplicity  and  severity  of  Roman  character  found 
expression  in  the  family.  Marriage  was  a  religious  act 
which  made  the  home  sacred,  the  house  a  holy  place. 
Within  lived  Vesta,  whose  altar  was  the  hearth ;  within 
were  the  spirits  of  the  ancestors,  who,  in  the  form  of  Lares, 
guarded  the  house  from  every  harm  ;  within,  too,  were  the 
Penates,  who  blessed  the  family  store.  Of  these  home 
deities  Horace  wrote  :  — 


The  Household  Gods 


23 


Household  Gods 

(In  a  house  at  Pompeii.) 

"  Thy  little  gods  for  humbler  tribute  call 

Than  blood  of  many  victims;   twine  for  them 
Of  rosemary  a  simple  coronal, 

And  the  lush  myrtle's  frail  and  fragrant  stem. 

The  costliest  sacrifice  that  wealth  can  make 
From  the  incensed  Penates  less  commands 

A  soft  response,  than  doth  the  poorest  cake, 
If  on  the  altar  laid  with  spotless  hands." 


Horace, 
Odes,  iii.  23. 


The  father  was  priest  of  these  gods,  owner  of  the  estate, 
and  master  of  his  wife  and  children  through  life.  He  could 
load  his  son  "with  chains,  sell  him  into  slavery,  or  put  him  to 
death.  Even  if  the  son  were  a  senator  or  magistrate,  the 
father  could  drag  him  home  and  punish  him  for  miscon- 
duct. Although  before  inflicting  the  death  penalty  the  law  P.  338. 
compelled  him  to  consult  the  kinsmen,  he  was  not  bound  by 
their  advice.     Women  were  always  under  guardianship,  the 


24 


The  Beginnings  of  Rome 


The  curia. 

Dionysius  ii. 
7- 


Dionysius  ii. 

23- 

The  tribes  - 
Ramnes,  Ti- 
tles, Luceres. 

P-  33- 


Social  ranks. 

Livy  i.  8 ; 
Dionysius  ii. 
8-io. 


P.  76. 

Dionysius  ii. 
9-11. 


maiden  of  her  father,  the  matron  of  her  husband.  Never- 
theless they  were  respected  :  the  wife  was  a  priestess  at  the 
hearth  ;  and  in  case  the  father  left  no  will,  the  mother  and 
the  daughter  shared  equally  with  the  sons  in  the  inheritance. 
In  this  strict,  moral  school,  young  men  were  disciplined  for 
public  life. 

Several  families  united  in  a  curia,  or  brotherhood.  On 
certain  festal  days  the  men  of  a  brotherhood  ate  together 
in  a  common  dining  hall  containing  a  sacred  hearth,  on 
which  they  kept  fire  burning  perpetually  in  honor  of  Juno. 
When  war  broke  out  the  members  of  a  curia  followed  their 
leaders  to  the  front,  and  stood  side  by  side  on  the  field  of 
battle.  Kinship  and  religion  inspired  them  to  deeds  of 
darins  ;  "  the  soldier  felt  ashamed  to  forsake  the  comrades 
with  whom  he  had  lived  in  communion  of  libations,  sacri- 
fices, and  holy  rites."  Ten  curiae  united  in  a  tribe  and 
three  tribes  composed  the  state.  Whatever  else  the  tribes 
might  have  been,  we  know  at  least  that  they  were  military 
divisions.  It  seems  probable  that  in  early  Rome  the  com- 
mons of  each  tribe  formed  a  regiment  of  foot,  and  the 
nobles  a  troop  of  horse. 

The  commons  were  called  plebeians  —  "  the  multitude  " 
—  and  the  nobles,  patricians.  Those  families  were  patrician 
whose  fathers  were  qualified  by  birth  to  be  senators,  magis- 
trates, and  priests.  In  early  Rome  the  barrier  between 
the  two  ranks  was  not  impassable  ;  with  the  consent  of  the 
assembly  the  king  could  ennoble  any  plebeian  whom  he 
considered  sufficiently  marked  by  wealth  or  personal  merit. 
As  the  patricians  alone  were  acquainted  with  the  laws, 
which  were  unwritten,  the  plebeian,  to  secure  protection 
for  himself  and  his  family  before  the  courts  of  law, 
chose  a  noble  as  his  patron,  whom  he  bound  himself  to 
serve  as  a  client.     Thus  many  of  the    plebeians  became 


The  C omit ia   Curiata  25 

clients  of  the  patricians.  The  duty  of  the  patron  was  to 
give  his  clients  legal  advice  in  their  business,  to  sue  for  them 
when  injured,  and  to  defend  them  when  sued.  The  clients, 
on  the  other  hand,  followed  their  patron  to  war  and  sup- 
ported him  in  public  life,  labored  in  his  fields  or  made  him 
presents,  that  he  might  fill  his  offices  with  becoming  dignity. 
It  was  impious  for  patron  and  client  to  accuse  each  other 
in  courts  of  justice  or  to  testify  or  vote  against  each  other. 
And  whoever  was  convicted  of  offending  against  these  or- 
dinances was  guilty  of  treason,  and  might  lawfully  be  put 
to  death  by  any  one  as  a  victim  devoted  to  the  infernal 
Jupiter.  Though  the  original  object  of  clientage  was  doubt- 
less good,  we  shall  see  how,  after  the  overthrow  of  the  P.  72  f. 
kingship,  it  became  intolerably  oppressive. 

When  the  king  wished  to  consult  his  people  on  questions  The  comma 
of  public  interest,  his  criers  went  about  the  city  with  ox-horns,   cunata- 
calling  them  to  the  comitium,  or  place  of  assembly.     Here   Dionysius  ii. 
the  curiae  met,  each  in  a  group  by  itself,  and  listened  to   I4- 
the  proposition  of  the  king  with  the  reasons  he  might  urge 
in  its  favor.     Then,  without  debate,  each  curia  determined 
whether  it  would  sustain  or  oppose  the  king's  wish  ;  and  a 
majority  of  the  curiae  decided  the  matter.     This  assembly 
was  called    the  comitia    curiata.      The    king    consulted    it 
when  he  wished  to  begin  an  aggressive  war,  to  conclude  a 
treaty,  to  change  an  existing  custom,  or  to  undertake  any 
other  important  business. 

To  be  binding,  such  a  decision  of  the  assembly  had  to   The  senate, 
receive  the  sanction  of  the  senate,  —  the  patrum  auctoritas.    Dionysius  ii. 
As  all,  without  distinction  of  rank,  had  a  voice  in  the  comitia,    I2- 
a   great    majority  of  that  body  were  necessarily  plebeians. 
It  was  chiefly  through  the  senate,  therefore,  that  the  nobles 
exercised  their  political  influence.     This  body,  at  first  very 
small,  gradually  grew  with  the  development  of  the  nobility, 


26 


TJie  Beginnings  of  Rome 


Plutarch, 
Poplicola,  ii. 


The  interrex. 
Livy  i.  17. 


The  election 
of  a  king. 


Cicero,  Re- 
public, v.  2. 


67. 


till  at  the  close  of  the  regal  period  it  is  said  to  have  con- 
tained a  hundred  and  thirty-six  members.  The  king  was 
accustomed  to  ask  the  advice  of  the  senate  on  all  important 
matters  ;  and  though  he  was  not  legally  bound  by  this  advice, 
— senatus  consultum,  —  he  generally  followed  it  through 
respect  for  the  nobles  and  through  desire  for  their  support 
and  cooperation. 

On  the  death  of  a  king  the  senate  took  entire  charge  of 
the  government ;  the  senators  ruled  by  turns,  each  for  a 
period  of  five  days,  in  the  order  determined  by  lot.  The 
ruler  for  the  time  being  was  termed  interrex,  and  the  period 
between  the  death  of  a  king  and  the  election  of  his  suc- 
cessor was  an  interregnum.  Although  the  first  interrex  was 
not  at  liberty  to  nominate  a  king,  probably  through  respect 
for  the  dead,  the  second  could  do  so,  or  any  interrex  there- 
after. When  the  temporary  ruler  had  found  a  suitable  can- 
didate for  the  office  of  king,  he  summoned  the  comitia 
and  called  for  a  vote  of  the  people.  In  case  of  an  election 
approved  by  the  senate,  a  resolution  of  the  assembly  con- 
ferred upon  the  new  king  the  rmperium}  which  made  him 
absolute  commander  in  war  and  supreme  judge  with  power 
of  life  and  death  over  his  subjects.  In  addition  to  these 
duties,  he  was  head  of  the  state  religion.  Ample  provision  was 
made  for  his  support.  "  Fields,  woods,  pastures,  extensive  and 
fertile,  were  allotted  to  the  king  and  cultivated  without  labor 
on  his  part,  that  anxiety  about  his  private  affairs  might  not 
distract  his  attention  from  the  duties  he  owed  the  people." 
Thus  the  king,  though  originally  but  a  citizen,  was  elevated 
to  a  place  of  great  dignity  and  power.  Accordingly  he 
dressed  in  an  embroidered  purple  robe  and  high  red  shoes, 
and  with  an  eagle-headed  sceptre  in  his  hand,  sat  on  an 
ivory  throne,  or  on  his  judgment  seat,  the  curule  chair.  In 
his  walks  he  was  accompanied  by  twelve  attendants,  called 


Religion 


27 


lictors,  each  bearing  an  axe  bound  in  a  bundle  of  rods. 
The  axes  signified  his  absolute  power  extending  to  life  and 
death ;  perhaps  the  rods  represented  the  mercy  which  tem- 
pered his  authority. 

Although  the  king  was  the  only  real  magistrate,  he  called 
others  to  assist  him  in  managing  the  public  property,  in 
detecting  crimes,  and  in  administering  justice.  He  also 
filled  all  priestly  offices 
and  colleges  with 
persons  agreeable  to 
himself. 

As  the  Romans  of 
a  later  age  assigned 
the  beginnings  of 
their  state  and  con- 
stitution to  Romulus, 
their  first  mythical 
king,  they  made 
Numa  Pompilius,  who 
was  second  in  the 
list,  author  of  most 
of  their  religious  in- 
stitutions. Myth  rep- 
resents Numa  as  the 
opposite  of  Romulus, 
—  as  a  man  of  peace, 
learned  in  human  and 
divine  law,  who  made 
it  the  aim  of  his  rule 
"  to  bring  the  hard 
and  iron  temper  of 
the  Romans  to  gentleness  and  equity."  Refraining  from  war 
throughout  his  reign,  he  occupied  his  time  in  giving  religious 


The  king's 
assistants. 


Minerva 

(Etruscan.) 


Religion  — 
the  myth  of 
Numa. 


Cicero,  Re- 
public, ii.  13- 
16 ;   Livy  i. 
17-21 ;   Plu- 
tarch, Numa. 


28 


The  Beginnings  of  Rome 


Livy  i.  21. 


Duruy, 
Rome,  i.  p. 
199; 
Horace, 
Odes,  i.  2,  4. 


laws  and  institutions  to  his  people.  These  improvements  he 
received  from  his  goddess  wife  Egeria,  with  whom  he  con- 
versed in  a  "  grove  in  the  middle  of  which  was  a  spring  of 
living  water,  issuing  from  a  dark,  grotto."  Near  the  comi- 
tium  he  built  a  temple  to  Janus,  the  double-faced  god,  who 
blesses  the  beginnings  and  ends  of  actions.  The  gates  of 
his  temple  were  open  in  war  and  closed  in  peace.  During 
the  reign  of  Numa  they  were  shut,  but  rarely  thereafter  in 
the  long  history  of  Rome.  Besides  Janus  there  are  father 
Jove,  or  Jupiter,  the  chief  guardian  of  Rome ;  Saturn,  who 

blesses       seed-sowing  ; 
"  Minerva,    who    warns 
the  husbandmen  in  time 
of    the    works     to    be 
undertaken  ;  "       Mars, 
god  of  war,  "whom  din 
delights    and   gleam    of 
burnished      helm,"     to 
whom    the  woodpecker 
and  the  wolf  are  sacred  ; 
Juno,  wife    of  Jupiter ; 
Vulcan,    who     "  strikes 
the     sparks    from     the 
forges   of    the    Cyclops 
with    reiterated   beat;" 
Venus,  a   garden    god- 
dess,   afterward    identi- 
fied   with     the     Greek 
queen   of  love ;    and    a 
host    of    other    deities. 
Every  object  and  every 
act  in  nature  and  in  human  life  had  a  guardian  spirit,  the 
most  important  of  which  the   Romans  worshipped  as  gods. 


A  Vestal  Virgin 

(National  Museum,  Naples.) 


A  New  Age  29 

Services  of  the  chief  deities  were  held  by  priests — fla mines, 
plural  of  fla  men  —  whose  lives  were  made  uncomfortable 
by  strict  rules  governing  every  detail  of  their  conduct.  In 
the  service  of  the  gods  they  performed  intricate  rites  and 
chanted  dry  rituals.  It  is  easy  to  see  how  this  religion 
must  have  narrowed  the  mind  and  fettered  the  imagination. 

Certain  religious  duties  were  the  care  of  groups,  or  col-    Sacred  col- 

l6£TCS 

leges,  of  sacred  persons.     Such  were  the  six  Vestal  virgins, 

who  attended  to  the  worship  of  Vesta  and  kept  the  sacred    Plutarch, 

fire  of  the  state  in  her  temple.     Twelve  leapers  —  Salii —   "  u'"a'  9    ' 

of  Mars,  in  purple  frocks  girt  with  a  broad,  bronze-studded 

belt,  carried  through   the  streets    the  sacred   shields,   upon 

which  they  clashed  their  short  swords,  while  they  leaped  and 

sang  to  their  god.     Augurs  took  the  auspices  for  the  king, 

by  reading    the  will  of  Jupiter  in  the  lightning  and  in  the 

flight  of  birds  ;  and  the  pontiffs,  who  had  charge  of  all  divine 

knowledge,  instructed  the  citizens  in  worship. 

We  have  now  reviewed  the  earliest  age  in  Roman  history,  a  new  age. 
—  represented  in  myth  by  the  first  four  kings,  —  during 
which  the  city  was  small  and  unimportant.  But  a  new  era 
already  dawning  was  to  bring  to  Rome  fine  public  buildings, 
massive  fortifications,  and  the  headship  of  Latium.  To  this 
second  era  of  the  kingly  period  the  myth  of  the  Tarquins 
and  of  Servius  Tullius  refers. 

While  Ancus  Martins  was  king,  Lucumo,  a  Greek  by  de-   Myth  of  Tar- 
scent  but  a  resident  of  Tarquinii,  a  city  of  Etruria,  came  with   ^°r 
Tanaquil,  his  wife,  to  Rome.     When  they  had  reached  the 
Janiculum,  "  an  eagle  sweeping  down  to  him  as  he  sat  in  his    Livy  i.  34. 
chariot,  took   off  his  cap,  and  with  loud  screams,  as  if  she 
had  been  sent  from  heaven  for  the  very  purpose,  replaced 
it  carefully  on  his  head."     Thereupon  Tanaquil,   who  was 
skilled   in  omens,   bade   her  husband    hope   for  a  high  and 
noble  fortune.     They  proceeded  to  the  city,  where  Lucumo, 


SO 


The  Beginnings  of  Rome 


taking  the  name  of  Lucius  Tarquinius  Priscus,  —  "  the  Elder," 
—  by  his  affable  and  courteous  manners  won  the  favor 
and  confidence  of  all.  The  people,  therefore,  elected  him 
king  after  Ancus.  He  gained  famous  victories  over  the 
Sabines  and  the  Latins ;  and  made  a  beginning  of  the  great 
public  works  which. his  successors  carried  to  completion. 


The  Wall  of  Servius 


Myth  of  Ser- 
vius Tullius. 


I. ivy  i.  39. 


Of  the  king  who  came  after  him  the  following  story  is 
told. 

A  strange  thing  once  happened  in  the  house  of  Tarquin 
the  Elder.  Several  of  his  household,  as  they  watched  Ser- 
vius Tullius,  a  slave  boy,  sleeping,  saw  his  head  blaze  with 
fire.  Whereupon  a  servant  brought  water  to  put  out  the 
flame.  Hut  the  queen,  preventing  him,  remarked  to  her 
husband,  "  Do  you  see  this  boy  whom  we  are  rearing  in 
so  mean  a  style?     lie  assured  that  hereafter  he  will  be  a 


Tarquinius  Superbus  31 

light  to  us  in  our  adversity,  and  a  protector  to  our  palace  in 
distress."  From  that  time  they  treated  him  as  their  own 
son ;  and  when  he  became  a  man,  they  gave  him  their 
daughter  in  marriage.  Tarquin  was  afterward  assassinated  ' 
by  shepherds  set  upon  him  by  the  sons  of  Ancus  Martius, 
and  Servius  Tullius  succeeded  to  the  throne. 

Myth  tells  us  further  that  Servius  built  a  great  wall  around 
Rome,  reorganized  the  army,  and  made  his  city  leader  of 
Latium.     Such  were  his  magnificent  deeds.     But  the  plots   Livy  i.  46  ff. 
of  his  wicked  daughter,  Tullia,  embittered  his  old  age  ;  and 
at  last  he  was  openly  murdered  by  her  husband,  Tarquin  the   Tarquinius 
Elder's  son,  who,  succeeding  to  the  throne,  gained  the  hate-   the  „  Proud - 
ful  title  of  the  "  Proud."      The  younger  Tarquin  completed 
the  public  works  his  father  had  begun.     On  these  buildings 
he   compelled   the   citizens   to   labor  unrewarded    till  they 
cursed  the  tyrant.      Another  myth  connects  him  with  the 
state  religion.     The  Sibyl  of  Cumae  came  to  him  one  day 
with  nine  books  of  prophecies  of  Apollo  concerning  the  future 
of  Rome.     She  wished  him  to  buy  them,  but  he  objected 
to  the  price.     After  she  had  burned  six  of  them,  however, 
curiosity  and  religious  fear  led  him  to  pay  the  original  price 
for  the  remaining  three.     He  placed  them  in  the  charge  of 
a  college  of  two  men  of  rank,  who  kept  them  in  a  vault  be- 
neath the  temple  of  Jupiter  on  the  Capitoline,  and  consulted 
them  whenever  the  state  was  in  especial  danger  or  distress. 

Though  the  last  royal  dynasty  of  Rome  was  undoubtedly  criticism  of 
named  Tarquin,  we  do  not  know  how  many  kings  the  family  x  e  myt  s 
furnished  or  whether  they  were  Etruscan  or  native.  Yet 
we  may  at  least  find  in  their  story  a  reflection  of  the  great 
influence  which,  in  this,  age,  the  Etruscan  civilization  gained 
over  Rome.  Let  us  leave  the  mythical  narrative  for  the 
present,  while  we  try  to  appreciate  the  actual  achievements 
of  this  family. 


The  public 
works  of  the 
Tarquins. 


32 


The  Beginnings  of  Rome 


Originally  the  valleys  among  the  hills  of  Rome  were 
marshy  and  often  overflowed.  The  Tarquins  drained  these 
low  grounds  by  means  of  arched  sewers,  some  of  which 
were  so  large  that  a  loaded  hay-cart  could  pass  through 
them.  The  most  famous  of  these  works  was  the  Cloaca 
Maxima,  —  <•' the  greatest  sewer," — which  drained  the  Fo- 
rum and  made  the  ground  about  it  habitable.  The  public 
life    of  the   community  henceforth  centred    in  this  valley. 


Cloaca  Maxima 


The  smiths  and  the  shopkeepers  set  up  their  stalls  around 
the  Forum.  About  it  the  kings  built  temples ;  and  adjoin- 
ing it  on  the  northeast  side  they  made  an  assembly-place  — 
the  comitium  —  in  which  they  built  a  senate-house.  Above 
the  Forum,  on  the  Capitoline,  they  erected  a  temple  to 
Jupiter,  Juno,  and  Minerva,  —  usually  known  as  the  temple 
of  the  Capitoline  Jupiter.  Though  in  the  heavy  Etruscan 
style,  it  was  for  centuries  the  most  magnificent  building  in 


The  Primitive  Roman  Army  33 

Rome.  They  provided,  too,  for  the  amusement  of  the 
people.  The  valley  between  the  Palatine  and  the  Aventine 
was  a  convenient  place  for  races  and  other  games.  On  the 
sloping  hillsides  which  bounded  it  one  of  the  Tarquins 
erected  wooden  seats  for  the  spectators,  naming  this  build- 
ing and  enclosure  the  Circus  Maximus. 

As  the  population  had  so  increased  that  the  old  defences  The  "  wail  of 
of  the  Palatine  and  the  Capitoline  no  longer  sufficed,  they 
included  in  the  city,  in  addition  to  these  two  heights,  the 
Quirinal,  Viminal,  Esquiline,  Caelian,  and  Aventine  Hills,  Liw  i.  44. 
—  making  seven  in  all,  —  and  surrounded  the  whole  space 
with  a  huge  wall,  parts  of  which  remain  to  this  day.  Though 
myth  makes  Servius  the  builder,  a  study  of  the  ruins  seems 
to  show  that  successive  kings  had  a  share  in  the  work. 
Rome  was  no  longer  a  group  of  villages,  but  a  great  forti- 
fied city. 

Still  more  important  for  the  future  strength  of  Rome  was   The  primitive 

•  •  Roman  army. 

the  new  army  which  Servius  is  said  to  have  called  into  being. 
Hitherto  the  tribes  and  curiae  had  furnished  their  regiments    P.  24. 
and  companies  for  war.     Each  group  was  a  mere  crowd  of 
men    poorly   armed    and  without    discipline  or  tactics.     It 
was  the  same  crude  military  system  which  we  find  among   P.  295. 
the    early  Greeks  and  Germans.      The  Spartans,  however,   Botsford, 
perhaps  as  early  as  the  eighth  century  B.C.,  invented   the 
phalanx,  —  a    line  of  warriors  with  strong  defensive  armor 
and   long  spears,  —  which  moved  as  a  unit    to  the   sound 
of  music.     The  new  system  commended  itself  to  all  intel- 
ligent Greeks,  and  soon  found  its  way  to  their  colonies  in 
Italy  and  in  Sicily.     Thence  one  of  the  Tarquins,  whom 
we  shall  call  Servius,  adopted  it  for  his  own  state. 

As  each  soldier  had  to  arm  and  equip  himself  at  his  own 
expense,  Servius  found  it  necessary  to  take  a  census  of  the 
citizens  in  order  to  know  who  should  buy  heavier,  and  who 

D 


Greece,  pp. 
28,  57. 


34 


The  Beginnings  of  Rome 


The  local 
tribes  and  the 
census. 

Livy  i.  43. 


The ' '  Army 
of  Servius." 


P.  24. 


Increase  in 
territory. 


lighter,  armor.  It  was  chiefly  for  this  purpose  that  he 
divided  the  city  into  four  districts,  called  tribes,  and  prob- 
ably the  country  into  sixteen  tribes.  Each  tribe  had  offi- 
cers and  a  list  of  members,  including  all  the  citizens  who 
owned  land  within  the  district.  Taking  the  census  on  the 
basis  of  this  local  organization,  Servius  divided  the  tribes- 
men into  five  classes  according  to  the  size  of  their  freeholds. 
He  required  the  members  of  the  first  or  wealthiest  class  to 
equip  themselves  with  the  heaviest  and  most  efficient  arms, 
those  of  the  second  class  to  buy  somewhat  less  complete 
equipments,  and  so  on  to  the  lowest.  The  three  wealthier 
classes  were  heavy-armed  and  stood  in  lines,  one  behind 
another,  while  the  fourth  and  fifth  classes,  as  light-armed 
troops,  served  wherever  occasion  demanded.  In  the  front 
line  were  forty  centuries  of  a  hundred  men  each ;  and  in 
the  second  and  third  lines  were  ten  centuries  each.  Of  the 
light-armed  troops  there  were  ten  centuries  in  the  fourth 
class,  and  fourteen  in  the  fifth.  Thus  the  phalanx  con- 
tained eighty-four  hundred  footmen  :  from  early  times  it 
appears  to  have  been  composed  of  two  divisions,  termed 
legions,  of  forty-two  hundred  foot  soldiers  each.  This  or- 
ganization included  mainly  plebeians ;  the  patricians  con- 
tinued to  serve  in  the  cavalry,  of  which  there  were  six 
centuries,  three  to  each  legion.  The  army,  thus  organized 
for  the  field,  contained  the  men  of  military  age  —  from 
seventeen  to  forty-six  years.  The  older  men  remained  in 
the  city  for  the  defence  of  the  walls. 

At  the  time  of  this  new  arrangement  the  territory  of 
Rome  had  increased  four  or  five  fold,  —  chiefly  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  Etruscans,  the  Sabines,  and  the  Latins.  When 
Rome  subdued  a  neighboring  city  she  razed  the  walls  and 
everything  they  enclosed,  excepting  the  temples,  and  seized 
a  third  or  perhaps  a  half  of  the  conquered  land.     She  com- 


Increase  in    Territory 


35 


pelled  many  of  the  dispossessed  people  to  settle  on  her 
own  hills,  and  admitting  all  to  the  citizenship,  bestowed 
the  patriciate  upon  the  nobles.  With  the  growth  of  her 
territory,  therefore,  came  a  corresponding  increase  in  her 
population  and  her  military  strength.     After  the  reform  of 

EARLY    ROME 


Servius,  Rome  could  put  into  the  field  a  well-organized  and 
well-disciplined  army  of  about  nine  thousand  men,  foot  and 
horse,  —  the  strongest  force  in  Latium. 

In  the  character  and  surroundings  of  the    Romans  we   causes  of  t*c 
discover  several  causes  of  their  future  greatness.     By  per- 
sistent labor  on  their  little  farms  the  peasants  acquired  the 


greatness  el 


36  The  Beginnings  of  Rome 

patience  and  the  strength  of  will  which  were  to  make  them 
the  best  soldiers  in  the  world.  As  sober,  practical  men, 
with  none  of  the  imagination  or  the  ideals  of  the  Greeks, 
they  developed  a  rare  talent  for  law,  organization,  and  self- 
government.  The  Seven  Hills  gave  a  unique  opportunity 
Cicero,  Re-      for  settlements  so  close  together  that  they  found  it  necessary 

pubiu,  11.         tQ  com|jine  jn  one  state.     This  union  increased  the  strength 

3-6. 

of  Rome,  and  introduced  a  precedent  for  the  free  admis- 
sion of  strangers  to  citizenship.  The  unhealthfulness  of  the 
neighboring  plain,  by  forcing  men  to  build  their  homes  on 
the  Hills,  encouraged  city  life  and  intelligent  enterprise. 
Then,  too,  the  advantage  of  the  situation  for  small  trade  and 
manufacturing  made  the  City  of  the  Seven  Hills  the  chief 
market  of  the  Latins.  Commercial  intercourse  with  the 
Greeks  led  Servius  to  adopt  their  superior  military  system, 
which  in  turn  made  Rome  the  political  head  of  Latium  — 
the  beginning  of  a  great  career. 

Rome  head  of  We  are  not  to  regard  her  supremacy  as  forced  upon  the 
dependent  country  and  exercised  wholly  for  her  own  benefit. 

Livy  i.  45.  Rather,  Latium  was  threatened  on  all  sides  by  enemies  :  in  the 
mountains,  the  barbarous  Sabellians,  ever  restless,  ready  to 
pour  like  torrents  into  the  plain  below  ;  in  Campania,  the 
Etruscans  with  their  aggressive  civilization  ;  and  in  alliance 
with  the  latter,  the  Carthaginians,  whose  galleys  swooped 
down  upon  the  unprotected  coast,  to  carry  off  both  cattle 
and  persons.  In  need  of  protection,  the  allied  Latin  towns 
looked  to  Rome  as  the  strongest  community  among  them, 
and  concluded  with  her  a  perpetual  peace,  which  made  the 
city  on  the  Tiber  their  head  and  defender.  For  a  religious 
centre  of  the  union,  the  Latins  and  the  Romans  built  a 
temple  to  Diana  on  the  Aventine. 

It  was  under  the  Tarquins  that   Rome  mule  for  herself 
this  honorable  place  in  Latium.      But  the  end  of  their  reign 


The  E>i<i  of  the  Monarchy  37 

was  drawing  near.     Myth  represents  the  last  Tarquin  as  a   The  end 
haughty  tyrant  who  broke  the  laws  of  the  forefathers,  slew  ofthe  . 

°     J     J  '  monarchy. 

senators,  and  so  oppressed  the  people  by  hard  labor  that 

they  were    ready  for  rebellion.     Matters    came    to  a  crisis 

when  Sextus,  the  brutal  son  of  the  king,  did  violence  to  the 

honor  of  Lucretia,  a  model  of  virtue  among  Roman  matrons. 

Collatinus    Tarquinius,    husband    of    Lucretia,  and     Lucius 

Junius  Brutus,  both  kinsmen  of  the  king,  led  the  revolt  of 

nobles  and  commons  against  the  tyrant.     He  was  banished,    Livy  i.6o;  ii. 

and  Brutus  persuaded  the  people  to  swear  that  they  would   2;  cf- shaks- 

pere,  Julius 

nevermore  suffer  a  king  to  rule  at  Rome.     In  place  of  a    casar,  Act  I. 
single  lifelong  sovereign,  the  people  thereafter  elected  annu-    Scene  ii. 
ally  two  consuls  as  chief  magistrates  with  equal  power. 

Sources 

Cicero,  Republic,  ii.  1-30  ;  Livy  i  ;   Dionysius  i-iv  ;  Plutarch,  Romu-    Reading. 
lus  ;  Xuma  ;   Eutropius  i.  1-9.     Cf.  Botsford,  Story  of  Koine,  ch.  ii. 

These  sources  are  made  up  of  (1)  stories  invented  for  the  most  part 
long  after  the  time  to  which  they  refer,  and  therefore  of  little  historical 
value  ;  and  interwoven  with  the  stories,  (2)  descriptions  of  institutions 
also  composed  many  years  after  the  regal  period.  The  descriptions  are 
of  far  greater  value  than  the  stories,  however,  for  the  institutions  of 
Rome  changed  so  little  from  age  to  age  that  a  writer  could  with  con- 
siderable accuracy  infer  their  past  history  from  their  present  condition. 

Modern  Works 

Pelham,  Outlines  of  Roman  History,  bk.  I  (the  most  scholarly  short 
history)  ;  How  and  Leigh,  History  of  Rome,  chs.  iii,  iv  ;  Shuckburgh, 
History  of  Rome,  chs.  iv,  v  ;  Ihne,  Early  Rome,  chs.  i-ix  ;  History  of 
Rome,  bk.  I*  (entire)  ;  Mommsen,  History  of  Rome,  bk.  I.  chs.  v,  vi, 
x-xv  ;  Duruy,  History  of  Rome,  I.  chs.  i-v  ;  Taylor,  Constitutional  and 
Political  History  of  Rome,  ch.  i  ;  Fowler,  The  City-State  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  chs.  i-iii.  Most  of  these  writers  assume  that  originally 
the  patricians  were  the  only  citizens  of  Rome,  and  that  the  plebeians 
were  either  alien  residents  or  conquered  subjects.  No  one,  however, 
has  offered  any  evidence  for  this  strange  theory.  For  the  correct  view, 
see  Pelham,  p.  24  ;  Meyer,  E.,  Geschichte  des  A  Iter  turns,  ii.  p.  520  ff; 
Botsford,  Composition  of  the  Roman  Assemblies. 


180470 


Lucius  Junius  Brutus 

MYTHICAL    FOUNDER    OF   THE    REPUBLIC 

(Palace  of  the  Conservator!,  Rome.) 


The  mythical 
battle  of 
Lake  Regil- 
lus,  496  B.C. 

I. ivy  ii.  19  f. 

P.  68. 

P.  26  f. 


CHAPTER    III 

ROME   BECOMES   SUPREME   IN   ITALY 

(509-264    K.C.) 

First  Period  of  the  Republic  —  External  History 

News  came  to  Rome  that  bands  of  horse  and  foot  from 
all  the  towns  of  the  Latin  League  were  gathering  at  Tusculum 
to  restore  the  aged  Tarquin  to  the  throne.  In  the  face  of 
this  great  danger  the  consuls  gave  way  to  a  dictator,  whom 
twenty-four  licturs  attended  with  axes,  and  who  ruled  the 
state  by  martial  law.  Holding  this  absolute  command, 
Postumius  led  forth  the  phalanx,  and  .Lbutius,  his  master 

38 


Foreign  Relations  39 

of  horse,  rode  on    the  left  among  the  agile  knights,  who 

were  armed  with  bull-hide    shields    and    long,  frail  lances. 

The  armies  met   at   Lake  Regillus,  near  Tusculum.     First 

Tarquin  the    Proud,   though    feeble   with    age,  spurred  his 

horse  to  a  furious  attack  upon  the  Roman  commander,  but 

his  clients  soon  carried  him  wounded  to  the  rear.     On  the   P.  24  f. 

left,  ^Ebutius  charged  Mamilius  of  Tusculum,  chief  general   Pp.  6,  36. 

of  the  Latin    League  ;    the  shock  of  the    two  heroes    was 

terrific  and  the  lances  of  both  drew  blood.     Meantime  the 

knights  were  engaging  each  his  foe.     A  battalion  of  Roman 

exiles,  too,  fought  furiously  under  Tarquin's  son,  who  rode 

far  in  their  front.     The  Roman  knight  Valerius  chased  him 

back  into  his  band,  but  thrust  through  the  body,  the  pursuer 

fell  from  his  horse  and  his  arms  clanged  loud.     Then  Her- 

minius,  knowing  Mamilius  by  his  glittering  arms  and  splendid 

dress,  darted  a  thrust  through  his  body  ;  but  while  despoiling 

the  corpse,  the  victor  was  wounded,  and  his  men  brought 

him    to  the  camp  to  die.     Such  were  the  combats  of  the 

knights  before  the  Servian  phalanx  had  learned  to  bear  its 

part  in  war.     The  Romans  won  the  fight,  thanks  to  the  twin 

gods,  Castor  and  Pollux,  who  took  part  with  them.     That 

evening  in  the  Forum  a  certain  Roman  "  saw  two  men,  tall 

and  fair,  washing  their  sweating  steeds  at  a  fountain  [near    Plutarch, 

the  temple  of  Vesta].     He  marvelled  much  at  their  tale  of    ^miiius-  2S- 

victory ;   then  they  smiled  serenely,  and  stroked  his  beard, 

which  instantly  changed    from    black   to  white."       On  the 

spot  where 'the  twin  gods  thus  appeared,  the  Romans  built 

for  them  a  beautiful  temple. 

A  treaty  which  the  consuls  had  made  with  Carthage  in   Foreign  reia- 
the  first  year  of  the  republic,  509  B.C.,  implies  that  Rome 
was  supreme  in  Latium.     The  Latins,  however,  had  revolted   Poiybiusiii. 
to  Tarquin,  and  the  ancient  historian  introduces  this  mythi- 
cal Roman  victory  to  explain  why  they  were  so  soon  ready 


4<D  Rome  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy 

P.  74.  for  friendship.     In  493    b.c,  Spurius  Cassius,  the    leading 

Dionysius  vi.   statesman   of  the    early   republic,  negotiated  with  them   a 

95-  perpetual  peace  ;  the  Latin  League  and  the  city  of  Rome 

were  to  furnish  yearly  commanders  alternately,  and  were  to 

share  equally  the  spoils  and  the  conquered  lands.     A  few 

486  b.c  years  later  the   same   statesman  extended  these   terms  of 

union  to  the  Hernicans,  who,  though  dwelling  in  a  mountain 

Conflict  be-     valley  above  Latium,  may  be  classed  with  the  Romans  and 

tween  the         t^e  Latins  as  civilized  lowlanders  in  contrast  with  the  Sa- 

plain  and  the  .... 

jjiUs  bines,  the  /Equians,  and  the  Volscians  —  rude  mountaineers. 

Every  year  the  dwellers  in  the  plain  had  to  fight  for  the  pro- 
tection of  their  property  and  their  lives  against  the  hungry 
tribes  of  the  hills.  This  war  in  defence  of  civilization  now 
became  the  burden  of  the  allies.  It  was  well  for  the  new 
league  that  the  Etruscans,  who  were  still  more  formidable 
enemies,  soon  found  trouble  elsewhere  :  hordes  of  barbarous 
Gauls  had  crossed  the  Alps  and  were  driving  them  from  the 
474  b.c.  Po  valley ;  off  Cumae  their  navy  suffered  a  terrible  defeat  at 

Pindar,  Pyth-   the  hands  of  Hiero,  tyrant  of  Syracuse,  who  "  hurled  their 
ian\\  Bots-     y0Uth  jnto  the  sea  to  deliver  Hellas  from  the  bondage  of 

ford,  Greece,  .    . 

p.  142.  the  oppressor,"  and   Italy  from  fear  of  Etruscan  dominion. 

Henceforth  their  power  declined ;  the  triple  alliance  could 
therefore  concentrate  more  of  its  strength  against  the  moun- 
taineers. It  was  a  long,  hard  struggle.  Year  after  year  the 
Sabines,  descending  from  their  mountain  homes,  pillaged 
the  Roman  territory.  Often,  too,  the  beacons,  blazing  on 
the  ramparts  of  Tusculum,  announced  that  the  /Equians 
were  besieging  that  city,  or  the  smoking  farmhouses  in  the 
distance  signalled  to  Rome  their  story  of  desolation.  Then 
the  plebeian,  quitting  political  strife  in  the  Forum,  or  leaving 
his  plough   in  the  furrow,  took   down   from  the  walls  of  his 

iJp-3J.33-  hut  the  armor  King  Servius  had  ordered  his  grandfather  or 
great-grandfather  to  buy,  and  hastened  to  his  place  in  the 


/ 


►« 

H 

i— i 

S5 

w 

b 

s 

>— 1 

> 

O 

o 

w 

W 

w 

H 

J 

-- 

1 


Cincinnatus  41 

phalanx.  In  open  field  this  army,  strengthened  by  the  allies, 
was  more  than  a  match  for  the  unorganized  bands  of  /Equi- 
ans.  But  defeating  highlanders  seemed  like  beating  the 
air.  Light  as  the  wind  they  withdrew  to  their  homes  among 
the  crags,  and  as  lightly  swept  down  again  upon  the  unpro- 
tected fields  of  the  allies.  They  seized  Mount  Algidus,  cut 
the  Hernicans  off  from  the  Romans,  and  raided  the  plain 
to  within  three  miles  of  Rome.  The  story  is  told  that  once 
they  entrappped  the  consul  Minucius  and  his  army  in  a 
valley.  Thereupon  the  other  consul,  at  the  request  of  the 
senate,  nominated  Cincinnatus  dictator,  and  messengers  bore  cincinnatus. 
the  important  commission  across  the  Tiber  to  his  four-acre  pP.  38,  68. 
farm.  Finding  him  in  his  tunic  engaged  in  some  rural  work,  Livy  Hi.  26. 
perhaps  digging  a  ditch,  they  greeted  him  as  he  leaned  on 
his  spade.  "  Put  on  your  toga,"  they  said,  "  to  hear  the 
message  of  the  senate."  "  Is  not  all  well  ?  "  he  asked  as  he 
sent  his  wife  Racilia  to  the  house  for  his  gown.  Then  wiping 
the  sweat  and  dust  from  his  brow  and  putting  on  the  toga, 
he  listened  to  the  commission.  He  took  command.  Without 
delay,  he  relieved  the  besieged  army,  humbled  the  enemy,  and 
returned  to  Rome,  his  troops  laden  with  booty.  So  brill- 
iant was  the  victory  that  the  senate  granted  him  a  triumph. 
A  grand  procession,  accordingly,  moved  along  the  Sacred  P.  23. 
Way  through  the  Forum,  then  up  the  Capitoline  to  the  tem- 
ple of  Jupiter.  In  front  were  the  captive  leaders  of  the 
.Fquians  ;  men  followed  with  the  standards  of  the  enemy ; 
then  came"  the  triumphal  car  in  which  sat  the  general  clad 
in  splendid  robes.  Behind  the  car  the  soldiers  marched 
carrying  the  booty,  singing  the  hymn  of  triumph,  and  in- 
dulging in  coarse  but  good-natured  jests  at  the  expense 
of  their  commander,  while  the  citizens  spread  tables  before 
their  houses  for  the  entertainment  of  the  army.  The  pro- 
cession halted  before  the  temple  that  the  general  might  bring   P.  32. 


42 


Roi>ic  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy 


The  weak- 
ness of  Rome. 

P.  4. 


509-449  B.C. 


P.  79. 


Battle  of 
Mount  Al- 
gidus,  431 
B.C.     I. ivy  iv. 
26-29. 

405  1:.' 


Siege  of  Veii. 
Livy  iv.  32-v. 
22;  Plutarch, 

(  ami  I  lus, 

2-6. 


the  chief  of  the  gods  an  offering  of  gratitude  for  the  victory. 
Then  resigning  his  command  the  sixteenth  day  after  taking 
it,  he  returned  to  his  farm.  Though  not  genuine  history, 
the  story  of  Cincinnatus  gives  a  true  picture  of  the  simple 
life  of  those  early  times  and  of  the  triumph  of  a  victorious 
general.  After  Cincinnatus,  the  Romans  had  still  many  years 
of  unsuccessful  war  with  the  ^Equians. 

Meantime  tribes  of  Volscians,  who  lived  in  the  moun- 
tains southeast  of  the  Hernicans,  descending  into  Latium, 
overran  the  entire  coast  from  Tarracina  to  Antium.  Advanc- 
ing still  farther  they  seized  several  Latin  towns  within  sight 
of  Rome  and  threatened  to  besiege  the  city  itself.  At  one 
time  the  mountaineers  held  nearly  all  Latium.  The  fact  is 
that  Rome  had  lost  greatly  by  the  overthrow  of  kingship  ; 
the  monarch,  commanding  all  the  resources  of  the  state,  had 
given  way  to  factions  of  nobles  and  commons,  whose  dis- 
sensions left  their  city  weak  in  war.  Under  the  kings  Rome 
had  won  respect  abroad,  but  on  their  downfall  she  lost  con- 
tact with  the  Mediterranean  world  and  for  more  than  half 
a  century  she  had  to  fight  for  existence  against  her  petty 
neighbors,  often  beneath  her  own  walls.  Then  followed  a 
lull  in  the  political  storm,  during  which  the  triple  alliance 
began  to  make  headway  against  its  enemies.  The  crisis 
came  in  431  B.C.,  when  the  dictator  Postumhis,  in  a  fierce 
battle,  stormed  the  camps  of  the  Volscians  and  the  /Equians 
on  Mount  Algidus.  Henceforth  the  Romans  steadily  ad- 
vanced. Before  the  end  of  the  century  they  had  recovered 
Latium  as  far  as  Tarracina.  Though  the  /Kquians  and  the 
Volscians  still  gave  trouble,  they  ceased  to  be  dangerous. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  century  the  Romans  began  war 
upon  Yeii,  an  Etruscan  city  as  large  as  their  own,  situated 
twelve  miles  distant  on  a  steep  and  strongly  fortified  height. 
After  a  long  siege  the  dictator  Camillus  took  it,  apparently 


The  Temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux 


The  Gauls  43 

by  a  mine.  He  permitted  his  soldiers  to  plunder  the  city,  396  b.c. 
and  sold  the  inhabitants  into  slavery.  In  after  years  the 
Romans  had  strange  stories  to  tell  of  this  war:  the  Alban  P. 6. 
lake  mysteriously  overflowed  in  a  dry  season  and  flooded 
the  plain  ;  an  Etruscan  seer  foretold  the  invasion  of  the 
Gauls  ;  the  image  of  the  Etruscan  goddess  Juno  spoke,  or 
at  least  moved.  Ancient  historians  loved  to  compare  the 
siege  with  that  of  Troy  and  insisted  that  it  lasted  ten  years. 
However  that  may  be,  this  conquest  doubled  the  Roman 
territory,  which  soon  afterward  extended  on  the  north  to 
the  Ciminian  hills. 

In  Etruria  Rome  first  came  into  collision  with  the  Gauls   Battle  of  the 
—  tall  warriors  with  fair  hair  and  flashing  eyes.     Wherever       ia-390B.c. 
they  marched,  "  their  harsh  music  and  discordant  clamors    Diodorus 
filled  all  places  with  a  horrible  din."     About  eleven  miles   X1V-  Z13-™6: 

1  Plutarch,  Ca- 

from  Rome,  on  the  Allia,  a  tributary  of  the  Tiber,  they  met    „mUSi  I4_29. 

a  Roman  army   of  forty  thousand  men.     The    barbarians   Livy  v.  37. 

fought  in  dense  masses  ;  their  enormous  swords  cut  through 

the    helmets  and  gashed  the  heads  of  the  Romans.     The 

men  who  had  often  faced  the  hill  tribes  in  battle  fled  in 

terror  from  these  gigantic  northerners.     Some  took  refuge 

in  deserted  Veii ;  others  bore  news  of  the  disaster  to  Rome. 

The  city  was  in  a  panic  ;  no  one  thought  of  defending  The  Gauls  in 
the  walls.     The  soldiers  and  the  younger  senators  hurried   *h° Clty-  39° 
to  the  citadel  to  strengthen  its  defences.     Those  who  were 
unable  or  unwilling  to  fight  dispersed  through  the  country  ;    p.  2r. 
the  Vestals  carried  away  the  sacred  fire  to  Caere,  a  neigh-    p.  29. 
boring  town.     Myth   asserts   that  some  of  the  priests  and 
aged  senators,  placing  their  ivory  chairs  in  the  Forum,  sat 
clad  in  official  robes  awaiting  their  fate.     As  the  Gauls  met 
with  no  resistance  at  the  gates,  they  entered  the  city  and 
besieged  the  citadel.     Some  of  them  under  Brennus,  their 
chief,  descending  to  the  Forum,  as  we  are  told  in  the  story, 


44  Rome  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy 

"  wondered  at  the  men  who  sat  there  silent,  with  all  their 
ornaments,  how  they  neither  rose  from  their  seats  at  the 
Plutarch,  Ca-  approach  of  the  enemy,  nor  changed  color,  but  sat  leaning 
*"■  22-  on  their  staffs  witli  fearless  confidence,  quietly  looking  at 
one  another.  The  Gauls  were  astonished  at  so  strange  a 
sight,  and  for  a  long  time  they  forbore  to  approach  and 
touch  them,  as  if  they  were  superior  beings.  But  when  one 
of  them  ventured  to  draw  near  to  Papirius  and  gently  stroke 
his  long  beard,  Papirius  struck  him  on  the  head  with  his 
staff,  at  which  the  barbarian  drew  his  sword  and  slew  him. 
Then  they  fell  on  the  rest  and  killed  them,  with  any  other 
Romans  whom  they  found  ;  and  they  spent  many  days  in 
plundering  the  houses,  after  which  they  burned  them  and 
pulled  them  down  in  rage  at  the  men  on  the  Capitoline, 
who  instead  of  surrendering,  repelled  the  assailants.  For 
this  reason  the  Gauls  wreaked  vengeance  on  the  city,  and 
put  to  death  all  their  captives,  men  and  women,  old  and 
young  alike."  This  story  was  told  in  praise  of  the  dignity, 
courage,  and  patriotic  devotion  of  the  Roman  nobles. 
There  is  another  tale,  equally  mythical,  that  one  night  the 
Gauls  were  attempting  to  steal  their  way  up  a  rough  pre- 
cipitous side  of  the  citadel,  when  the  cackling  of  some 
sacred  geese  in  the  temple  of  Juno  aroused  the  garrison 
and  thus  saved  the  place  from  the  enemy.  Perhaps  this 
story  was  invented  to  explain  why  the  Romans  held  geese 
sacred  and  honored  them  in  an  annual  festival  of  Juno. 
Early  Roman  history  is  full  of  such  myths. 
"Woe to  At  length  the  Romans  on  the  Gapitoline,  weary  with  con- 

quished  !  "  tinual  watching  and  threatened  with  famine,  offered  Brennus 
a  thousand  pounds  of  gold  if  he  would  withdraw.  It  is  said 
that  the  barbarian  chief  threw  his  sword  in  the  scale,  ex- 
claiming, "  Woe  to  the  vanquished  !"  and  that  while  the 
parties  were  disputing  over  this  increased  demand,  Camil- 


Rome  Rebuilt  45 

lus,  again  dictator,  appeared  with  an  army  on  the  scene  and   Plutarch,  Ca- 
drove  the  Gauls  away  without   their  gold.     Doubtless  the   millus'  28f- 
Romans  paid  the  ransom  ;  the  appearance  of  Camillus  is  a 
device  of  the  historian  for  brightening  a  tarnished  spot  on 
the  fame  of  Rome. 

The  people  returned  to  the  city  and  proceeded  to  clear  Rebuilding 
away  the  rubbish.  Each  man  built  his  hut  wherever  he  eciy- 
found  a  convenient  place.  Within  a  year  Rome  with  her 
narrow,  crooked  streets  arose  from  the  ashes.  The  new 
city,  which  acknowledged  Camillus  as  founder,  was  as  rudely 
built  as  the  old.  Though  the  people  were  impoverished  by 
the  war,  though  most  of  the  public  records  perished,  so  that 
we  shall  never  know  the  details  of  the  earlier  Roman  his- 
tory, the  character  and  the  institutions  of  the  old  city  con- 
tinued in  the  new  ;  there  was  no  break  in  the  current  of 
national  life. 

In  addition  to  founding  the  city  anew  Camillus  began  to   Military  re- 
reform  the  army.     Before  his  time  the  soldiers  served  with-    ^"ipuiar6 
out  pay  and  equipped  themselves  according  to  their  means,   legion. 
In  the  war  with  Veii,  however,  the  senate  began  to  pay  them    Polybius  ( 
for  service,  thus  making  possible  a  thorough  change  in  the 
military  system  ;  for  henceforth  the  citizens,  who  had  been 
accustomed   to   short   summer   campaigns,  could  serve  the 
entire  year,  when  necessary,  and  the  poor  man  as  well  as 
the  rich  could  buy  a  complete  equipment.     Hence  the  dis- 
tinction of  classes  in  the  armor  and  in  the  arrangement  of 
the  troops  "gave  way  to  a  ranking  according  to  experience.    P.  33  f- 
The  recruit  entered  the  light  division  ;  after  a  time  he  passed 
to  the  front  line  of  the  heavy  infantry,  thence  to  the  second 
line,  and  when  he  became  a  veteran,  to  the  third.     The  sol- 
diers of  the  first  two  lines,  besides  defensive  armor,  carried 
each  two  pila,  or  javelins,   for  hurling,  and  a  sword.     The 
veterans  were  armed  in  the  same  way,  except  that  instead 


46 


Rome  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy 


Polybius 

vi.  23. 


lb. 


The  new  cav- 
alry. 

Pp-  34.  39- 


of  javelins  each  carried  a  lance.  It  was  probably  at  the 
suggestion  of  Camillus  that  the  Romans  strengthened  their 
defensive  armor  :  on  the  large  quadrangular  shield  which 
they  now  carried  they  fixed  an  iron  boss  for  resisting  pikes 

and  missiles,  and  added  a 
crest  to  the  helmet  for 
warding  off  the  sword-blows 
of  the  Gauls.  The  crest 
was  surmounted  by  "  three 
purple  or  black  feathers 
standing  upright,  about  a 
cubit  long.  The  effect  of 
these  plumes,  combined  with 
the  rest  of  the  armor,  was  to 
give  the  man  an  appearance 
of  being  twice  his  real  height 
and  a  noble  aspect  calcu- 
lated to  strike  terror  into  the 
enemy."  In  place  of  the 
solid  phalanx,  the  lines  of  heavy-armed  men  were  now 
divided  each  into  ten  companies  called  maniples,  stationed 
at  intervals  in  such  a  way  that  the  vacant  spaces  in  a  line 
were  covered  by  the  companies  of  the  following  line.  Or- 
dinarily a  legion  consisted  of  three  thousand  heavy-armed 
troops  and  twelve  hundred  light-armed.  The  number  of 
legions  varied  according  to  the  requirements  of  war. 

As  great  a  change  took  place  in  the  cavalry.  Down  to 
the  war  with  Veii  the  knights,  whose  horses  were  furnished 
by  the  state,  and  who  were  all  or  nearly  all  patricians,  car- 
ried light  arms  in  the  early  Roman  fashion,  and  accordingly 
proved  nearly  useless.  But  in  that  war  sons  of  wealthy  ple- 
beians volunteered  to  serve  in  the  cavalry  with  their  own 
horses.     As  the  offer  was  accepted,  they  armed  themselves 


A  Roman  Helmet 

(National  Museum,  Naples  ;   from 
Pompeii.) 


The  New  Cavalry  47 

with  the  heavier  and  better  Greek  weapons,  so  that  hence- 
forth Rome  had  an  efficient  cavalry.  There  were  regularly 
three  hundred  knights  to  a  legion,  as  before. 

Usually  battle  opened  with  skirmishing  of  the  light  troops.   Plan  of  bat- 

tie 

As  the  hostile  forces  neared  each  other,  apparently  the  mani- 
ples of  the  second  line  closed  up  the  vacant  spaces  in  the  Livy  viii.  8 
first ;  the  van,  thus  formed,  hurled  their  missiles,  then  sword  Tl^J 
in  hand  dashed  upon  the  confused  enemy.  If  they  failed 
to  win  the  victory,  when  weary  with  fighting  they  withdrew 
to  the  rear  through  the  vacant  spaces  in  the  line  behind 
them.  Meantime  the  veterans  waited,  the  right  knee  and 
the  left  foot  resting  on  the  ground,  the  shield  leaning  against 
the  shoulder,  the  spear  fixed  upright  in  the  earth.  They 
seemed  a  rampart  bristling  with  lances.  When  they  found 
themselves  facing  the  foe  in  the  crisis  of  battle,  they  arose, 
and  moving  apart  to  the  right  and  left,  filled  up  the  vacant 
spaces  between  the  maniples,  so  that  each  man  had  ample 
room  for  action.  Skilled  by  years  of  practice  in  the  play 
of  the  sword  and  in  the  lance  thrust,  the  old  guard  rushed 
upon  the  enemy.  Each  man  fought  his  own  battle  as  if 
Rome  depended  upon  him  alone.  If  the  veterans  failed, 
the  fight  was  lost. 

The  legion  was  a  remarkable  institution  ;  strong,  yet  light   Superiority 

,    .        ,  ...  t  ,    ,  of  the  Roman 

and  flexible,  it  combined  in  the  missile,  sword,  and  lance  military  sys- 

the  advantages  of  distant  and  hand-to-hand  fighting,  —  "  the   tem- 

volley  of  javelins  prepared  the  way  for  the  sword  encounter, 

exactly  as  a-  volley  of  musketry  now  precedes  a  charge  with   Mommsen, 

1  r  ,1  -l  Rome,  bk.  II. 

the  bayonet."  In  the  arrangement  of  the  maniples  it  was  ch  v... 
at  once  open  and  compact ;  and  as  the  Romans  were  accus- 
tomed to  fortify  the  camp  in  which  they  expected  to  pass 
even  a  single  night,  they  were  always  "at  liberty  to  choose 
between  offering  battle  and  remaining  quietly  behind  their 
walls.     Camillus  began  the  reform  in  the  conflict  with  Veii ; 


48 


Rome  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy 


Organization 
of  acquired 
territory. 


Livy  vi.  3. 


Four  new- 
tribes,  387, 
and  two  in 
358  B.C. 
Colonies. 
383,  382  B.C. 


338  B.C. 


Municipia. 


Citizenship 
without  the 
right  to  vote 
—  "  Cseritan 
rights." 


it  required  more  than  a  century  of  wars  with  the  Gauls,  the 
Latins,  the  Samnites,  and  the  Greeks  to  bring  his  work  to 
perfection. 

While  the  Romans,  by  rebuilding  the  city  and  reforming 
the  army,  were  striving  to  make  good  their  misfortune,  all 
the  neighbors  rose  in  arms  against  them,  —  Etruscans,  Vol- 
scians,  and  even  the  chief  towns  of  the  Latins  and  the  Her- 
nicans.  But  their  combined  strength  could  not  overwhelm 
the  city ;  for  Camillus,  "  the  life  and  soul  of  Rome,"  every- 
where led  his  legions  to  victory.  The  government  secured 
its  advantages  by  forming  new  tribes  from  the  conquered 
territory1  and  by  planting  colonies  in  Etruria  and  in  Latium, 
—  for  instance,  Sutrium  and  Setia.  A  Latin  colony,  whether 
made  up  wholly  of  Romans  or  shared  with  the  Latin  and 
Hernican  allies,  was  one  which  enjoyed  the  privileges  of  an 
old  Latin  town.  The  two  just  mentioned  were  of  this  class. 
A  Roman  colony,  on  the  other  hand,  was  one  composed 
exclusively  of  Romans  who  continued  to  enjoy  the  privileges 
of  full  citizenship  in  the  mother  city.  It  was  usually  a  gar- 
rison of  three  hundred  men,  with  their  families,  established 
in  a  maritime  town  for  the  defence  of  the  coast.  The  earli- 
est of  this  kind  was  probably  Antium,  made  into  a  Roman 
colony  some  years  after  the  time  of  which  we  are  now  speak- 
ing. In  addition  to  the  colonies  there  were  towns  termed 
municipia  with  various  privileges.  The  people  of  Tusculuni, 
admitted  to  the  Roman  state  in  381  B.C.,  enjoyed  full  citi- 
zenship and  self-government  ;  those  of  C?ere,  on  the  con- 
trary, though  citizens,  could  neither  vote  nor  hold  office  at 
Rome,  and  at  the  same  time  their  local  freedom  was  re- 
stricted by  the  presence  of  an  officer  termed  prefect,  sent 

• 

1  Runic  formed  new  tribes  on  lands  she  had  taken  in  war  and  settled 
with  her  own  citizens.  There  were  twenty  tribes  in  the  regal  period, 
and  one  was  added  in  the  early  republic  (pp.  34,  73). 


Treaty  with  Samnium  49 

from  Rome  to  administer  justice  among  them.     The  system 

of  organizing  tribes,  colonies,  and  municipia  strengthened  the 

hold  of  the  leading  city  on  the  lands  won  in  war.     A  great  Allies. 

change  had  taken  place  in  the  relations  between  the  allies 

themselves.     A  hundred  years  of  warfare  with  the  moun-    Fifth  century 

taineers  had  so  weakened  the   Latins  and  the  Hernicans 

that  they  could  no  longer  claim  equality  with  Rome.     This   P.  40. 

city, — protected  by  her  allies,  yet  posing  as  their  champion, 

—  gained  politically  by  their  loss.     She  now  furnished  all 

the  commanders,  and  she  claimed  the  lion's  share  of  the 

spoils  and  of  the  conquered  land. 

About  the  middle  of  the  fourth  century  b.  c,  Rome  allied   Treaty  be- 

.  ,  .  ,,       tween  Rome 

herself  with   Samnium,    the    most   powerful  nation   in    the   and  Sam. 

interior  of  the  peninsula.     While  the  city  on  the  Tiber  with   nium>  354 

B  C 

the  greatest  difficulty  had  been  gradually  gaining  control  of 
south  Etruria  and  had  been  slowly  organizing  her  supremacy 
over  Latium,  the  Samnites  were  passing  through  a  brilliant   P.  4. 
career  of  conquest.     Some  of  their  tribes  descended  upon   Previous 
the  coast  region  afterward  known  as  Campania,  southeast   "^quests ;  ° 

°  tnebamnites. 

of  Latium.     This  country  is  renowned  for  its  fertility  and  Poiybius  Hi. 

beauty,  for  its  bright  sea  and  sunny  sky  ;  and  on  the  coast  is  91- 
the  great  Bay  of  Naples,  making  commerce  easy.    Admitted 

in  friendship  to  the   Etruscan  Capua,  the  barbarians  mas-  424  b.c. 
sacred  the  inhabitants  and  took  possession  of  the  rich  city. 

They  conquered  the  Greek  Cumae  and  occupied  the  whole  P.  12. 

of  Campania.     About  the  time  this  invasion  began,  swarms  420  b.c. 
of  Samnites  under  the  name  of  Lucanians,  passing  southward, 

assailed  the  cities  of  Magna  Graecia.     As  they  were  equally  Botsford, 

successful  in  this  region,  we  find   them,  before   the  treaty    Greece> 

0      '  p.  246. 

with  Rome  above  mentioned,  in  possession  of  nearly  all 
lower  Italy.  Thus  in  the  brilliancy  of  their  achievements 
the  Samnites  greatly  surpassed  the  Romans  ;  but  their  con- 
quests were  of  no  value  to  the  nation  as  a  whole,  for  the 


50  Rome  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy 

tribes   which   migrated   from  the  hills  to  the  coast  lost  all 
political   connection  with  the  mother  country.     Forgetting 
the  primitive  customs  of  the  race,  they  readily  learned  to 
,  live  the  refined  though  less  virtuous  life  of  their  Etruscan 
and  Greek    subjects.      Accordingly  while    Capua   became, 
next  to  Rome,  the  greatest  and  wealthiest  city  of  Italy,  her 
people  won  notoriety  for  weakness  and  vice.     They  trembled 
Livy  vii.  30  f.   before  their  brave  kinsmen  of  the  hills ;  and  though  many 
Capuans  were  ready  to  serve  for  pay  in  foreign  armies,  few 
were    willing    to    defend    their  own   city.     When  therefore 
fresh  tribes  from  Samnium  ravaged  their  fields,  they   sur- 
rendered the  city  to  Rome  in  return  for  protection.     The 
senate  hesitated  to  offend  Samnium,  an  allied  state  ;  and  yet 
it  could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  acquire,  even  by  viola- 
tion of  the  treaty,  so   rich  a  country  as  Campania.      By 
accepting  this  offer  the  Romans  brought  upon  themselves 
the  First  Samnite  War. 
Contrast  be-         The   two  nations,  however  evenly  matched,   differed   in 
and  Sam-        character.     The  Samnites  were  mountaineers,  who  had  no 
nium.  cities,  no  wealth,  no  king  or  aristocracy.     Poor  but  brave 

P.  2. 

and  free,  they  looked  greedily  down  upon  the  well-cultivated 
plains  on  their  western  border.  With  their  skilful  swords 
they  hoped  to  win  a  title  to  these  rich  lands,  as  odiers  of 
their  race  had  done  before.  They  were  opposed  in  this 
project  by  a  single  city,  governed  by  an  able,  warlike  aris- 
tocracy,—  a  city  which  prided  itself  on  the  discipline  and 
the  subordination  of  the  masses,  and  which  controlled  the 
resources  of  the  plain  extending  from  the  Ciminian  forest  to 
P.  36.  the  Liris  River.     No  other  country  in  Italy  was  so  thoroughly 

centralized.  Its  army  was  a  peasant  militia,  obedient  to 
command,  brave,  patient,  hardy,  ready  for  long  marches  and 
severe  toils  ;  rarely  over-elated  by  success  or  cast  down  by 
misfortune.     Most  of  the  commanders    had    inherited    the 


First  Sainnite  War  51 

military  knowledge  and  prestige  of  a  long  line  of  ancestors. 
In   their  military  organization  and  tactics  they  had    taken    Pp.  33, 45. 
lessons  of  the  Greeks ;  their  legion  was  even  an  improve- 
ment on  the  Greek  phalanx,  especially  as  it  was  better  adapted 
to  righting  in  the  hills. 

The  Latins  and  the  Romans  entered  this  struggle  with   First  Sam- 

one  soul  ;  it  was  a  national  war  for  home  and  country,  for   ni  e    ar' 

}  343-341  B.C. 

the  wealth  and  civilization  of  the  plain  against  encroaching 
barbarism.      They    fought   therefore  with  great  spirit ;  the 
Samnites  declared  that  in  battle  they  saw  fire  in  the  eyes  of 
the  enemy  and  the  fury  of  madmen  in  their  faces,- — this    Livyvii.  33. 
was  their  apology  for  flight.     So  great  was  the  success  of  Treaty  with 
the   Romans  in  this  short  war  that  the  Carthaginians,  who   CarthaSe. 

348  B.C. 

had  recently  made  a  new  treaty  with  them,  sent  ambassa-   p0iybius 
dors  to  congratulate  them,  and  to  bring  as  a  gift  a  golden   »"■  24- 
crown  of  twenty-five  pounds  weight,  which  was  placed  in  the   Livy  vii.  38. 
temple  of  Jupiter  on  the  Capitoline. 

At  the  request  of  the  Campanians  the  Romans  garrisoned   The  mutiny, 
Capua  and  other  towns  of  that  country  to  repel  the  incur-   342  B"c 
sions  of  the  Samnites.     The  soldiers  stationed  in  Capua,  who 
were  poor  and  heavily  indebted,  complained  among  them-    Livy  vii. 
selves  of  the  way  they  were  treated  by  the  generals  ;  appar-   3  ~42- 
ently  at  the  close  of  a  campaign  the  commanders  had  often 
stricken  the  names  of  privates  from  the  roll  to  deprive  them 
of  pay  and  of  their  share  of  booty.     The  military  tribunes, 
—  staff  officers,  —  also,  complained   that  the  commanders 
degraded  them  to  the  rank  of  centurion  —  captain.     Irri- 
tated by  these  real  grievances  and  losing  their  discipline  in 
the  pleasures  of  the  gay  city,  they  plotted  to  massacre  the 
Capuans,   seize  their  wealth,  and  marry  their  wives.     The 
conspirators  were  nearly  ready  for  the    deed    when  Gaius 
Marcius  Rutilus,  consul  for  the  following  year,  arrived.     He 
quietly  dismissed  from  the  army  the  most  turbulent  spirits, 


52 


Rome  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy 


111.  2. 


The  Latins 
demand  rep 
resentation 
at  Rome. 


who,  however,  assembled  with  others  and  marched  twenty 
thousand  strong  against  Rome.  While  they  were  in  camp 
near  the  city,  Marcus  Valerius  Corvus,  who  on  their  approach 
had  been  appointed  dictator,  came  out  to  treat  with  them. 
As  he  was  a  great  favorite  of  the  soldiers  he  persuaded  the 
*  mutineers  to  desist  from  their  attempt,  promising  them  a 
redress  of  their  grievances.     Accordingly  on  his  motion  the 

Appian,  For-  senate  and  assembly  passed  a  law,  which  besides  granting 
pardon  for  the  mutiny,  cancelled  all  debts  and  forbade  both 
the  erasure  of  a  soldier's  name  from  the  military  list  and  the 
degradation  of  a  tribune. 

In  341  B.C.  Rome  and  Samnium  suddenly  made  peace 
and  alliance  ;  possibly  both  feared  Archidamus,  king  of 
Lacedgemon,  who  had  recently  come  to  Italy  with  an  army 
to  help  the  Spartan  colony,  Tarentum,  against  the  natives. 
The  Romans  immediately  withdrew  their  army  from  the 
field,  leaving  the  Latins  and  other  allies  in  the  lurch.  For 
a  time  the  war  went  on  without  the  help  of  the  leading  city. 
At  last  the  Latins,  now  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  alliance  of 
neighboring  states,  thinking  that  they  were  as  strong  as  the 
metropolis,  demanded  equal  representation  with  the  Romans 
in  the  consulship  and  in  the  senate ;  in  place  of  allies  they 
wished  to  be  Romans.     Though  just,  the  demand  was  re- 

Livyviii.  4  f .  jected  with  scorn;  "  a  foreign  consul  and  foreign  senators 
sitting  in  the  temple  of  Jupiter  would  be  an  insult  to  the 
supreme  god  of  the  state,  as  though  he  were  taken  captive 
by  the  enemy  ! "  The  Roman  historian  asserts  that  the 
gods,  resenting  the  impudence  of  the  Latin  envoys,  sent  a 
thunderstorm  while  they  were  speaking,  and  that  as  Annius, 
chief  of  the  embassy,  was  passing  down  the  steps  of  the 
Capitoline  temple,  he  fell  forward  with  such  violence  upon 
a  stone  that  he  lost  his  senses. 

War  followed.     The  Romans  and  the  Latins  were  of  one 


Cf.  p.  135. 


The  Latin    War  53 

blood  and  speech  and   had   long  served  under   the    same   The  Latin 
commanders.     They  had  the  same  arms,  the  same  military 

B.C. 

organization  and  discipline.     Rome,  however,  enjoyed  the" 
advantage  that  comes  to  a  single  city  in  opposing  a  loose   Livy  viii.  6- 
confederacy.     She  brought  the  war  to  a  successful  close  in   I3- 
one  or  two  fierce  battles  and  a  series  of  sieges.     She  then 
dissolved  the  Latin  League  and  made  separate  treaties  with 
Laurentum,  which   had   remained  faithful,  and   with   Tibur   The  Latin 
and  Praeneste, —  cities  too  strong  for  her  to  think  of  sub-    LeaSue  dls- 

solved,  338 

duing.     A  few  Latin  towns  were  admitted    to  full   Roman    BC 
citizenship.     The  other  towns  of  Latin m  '  and  those  of  Cam-    Livy  vili-  ri. 
pania  received  the  citizenship  without  the  right  to  vote  and 

v  ^  &  pp.  127, 233. 

hold  office  at  Rome.    While  most  of  the  Latin  communities 
retained  their  local  self-administration,  Rome  sent  out  pre-    r.  49- 
fects  'to  rule  those  of  Campania.     Two  new  tribes  were  made    (29  tribes;  p. 
of  the  lands  taken  in  this  war.  48-' 

In  the  year  in  which  the  Latin  League  was  dissolved,  Alexander, 
King  Archidamus  fell  in  battle.  Thereupon  the  Tarentines  Moiossians6 
called  to  their  assistance  Alexander,  uncle  and  brother-in- 
law  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and  king  of  the  Molossians,  a 
tribe  of  Epirus.  He  came  with  an  army  organized  like 
that  of  his  famous  relative.  Meeting  at  first  with  marked 
success,  he  dreamed  of  building  up  as  great  a  power  in  the 
West  as  his  namesake  was  then  creating  in  the  East.  Sam- 
nium  aided  and  encouraged  her  southern  kinsmen,  the 
Lucanians  and  the  Bruttians,  while  Rome,  regardless  of 
obligations  to  her  neighbors,  made  a  treaty  with  Alexander 
as  well  as  with  the  Gauls,  —  both  enemies  of  Italy.  But 
the  Greek  King  found  it  impossible  to  conquer  the  Italians. 

1  Lanuvium,  Aricia,  Nomentum,  and  Pedum — all  important  cities  — 
received  the  full  Roman  citizenship,  —  a  privilege  already  enjoyed  by 
Tusculum ;  p.  49.  As  a  rule  the  smaller  Latin  towns  were  given  the 
limited  citizenship. 


54 


Rome  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy 


Astonished  at  their  manly  character,  he  is  said  to  have 
Livyviii.  24.  exclaimed,  "While  my  brother-in-law  is  fighting  against 
women,  I  have  to  contend  with  men  !  "  Finally  he  was 
slain  by  treachery,  and  his  foes,  relieved  of  intense  fear, 
gave  vent  to  their  wild  joy  by  mangling  his  body, 
second  Sam-        Rome,  however,  had  offended  Samnium   by  her  treaties 

nite  War, 
326-304  B.C. 


A  Proconsul 

(National  Museum,  Naples;  from  Pompeii.) 

and  still  more  by  founding  Fregelke,  a  strong  fortress 
colony,  near  her  rival's  border.  She  showed  her  aggres- 
sive spirit  further  by  besieging  Naples,  a  free  Greek  city  of 
Campania.  The  Sainnites  reenforced  the  place,  and  when 
Roman  envoys  complained  to  them  of  the  art,  their  magis- 
trates replied,  "This  is  no  subject  for  conference  or  arbitra- 


Second  Samnite    War  55 

tion  ;  let  us  meet  in  the  plains  of  Campania,  where  our  arms  Livy  viii.  23. 
shall  settle  the  dispute."  It  was  a  question  whether  Rome, 
by  reducing  all  Italy  to  peace,  should  give  her  an  oppor- 
tunity for  progress  in  government,  in  wealth,  and  in  culture, 
or  whether  a  large  part  of  the  peninsula  should  still  be 
subject  to  the  constant  raids  and  the  fruitless  colonizations 
of  half-civilized  highlanders.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war 
Publilius  Philo,  a  plebeian  consul,  was  besieging  Naples. 
The  senate,  to  retain  this  able  general  at  his  post,  continued  The  procon- 
him  a  second  year  in  command  with  the  title  of  proconsul.   sulshlP  instl" 

J  l  tuted,  326 

This  new  institution  was  of  the  greatest  importance  ;  for  we   BC. 
shall  see  that  it  was  chiefly  the  proconsuls  who  conquered   Cf.  pp.  113, 
the  world  for  Rome  and  who  then  overthrew  the  republican 
government  of  their  city. 

When  Naples  surrendered  she  became  a  naval  ally,  Rome  wins 
exempt  from  service  on  land  but  required  to  furnish  war- 
ships and  crews  when  needed.  These  favorable  terms  soon 
brought  Rome  other  maritime  allies.  In  diplomacy  she 
showed  her  superiority  to  Samnium  by  drawing  to  her  side 
the  Apulians,  who  were  incessantly  harassed  by  the  men 
of  the  hills,  and  the  Lucanians,  notwithstanding  their  close 
relationship  with  Rome's  great  enemy. 

The  fortunes  of  war  varied.     At  first  Rome  was  success-   Disaster  in 
ful ;  then  the  tide  turned  in  favor  of  Samnium,  and  several   pass        BC 
Latin  towns  revolted.     In   321   B.C.,  Pontius,   the    Samnite   Livyix.  i-n. 
leader,  enticed  the  consuls  with  forty  thousand  men  into  an 
ambush  at  the  Caudine  Pass,  in  a  valley  of  the  Apennines, 
and  compelled  them    to   surrender.     The   consuls,  in    the 
name  of  the  state,  consented  to  the  enemy's  terms  of  peace  ; 
the  troops,  deprived  of  their  arms,  passed  humbly  under  the 
yoke,    after   which    all    returned    home    but    six    hundred 
knights,  who  were   detained  as  hostages.     Feeling   keenly 
their  disgrace,  the  soldiers  slunk  into  the  city  under  cover 


56  Rome  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy 

of  night;  business  closed,  while  all  mourned  the  shameful 
surrender  and  treaty.  As  the  consuls  retired  from  office, 
Lucius  Papirius  Cursor  and  Quintus  Publilius  Philo,  the  two 
most  eminent  men  in  the  state,  were  elected  in  their  place. 
Under  their  influence  the  government  repudiated  the  treaty 
on  the  ground  that  it  had  not  been  ratified  by  the  people, 
and  delivered  to  the  enemy  the  ex-consuls  who  were  re- 
sponsible for  it.  After  they  had  crossed  the  border,  one  of 
them,  exclaiming  that  he  was  now  a  Samnite,  kicked  the 
Roman  herald,  to  give  his  city  a  pretext  for  renewing  the 
war.  Such  was  the  faith  of  the  Romans,  —  strict  adher- 
ence to  the  letter  of  an  agreement,  ready  violation  of  its 
spirit. 
a  hero  of  the  Perhaps  the  most  distinguished  leader  of  the  war  was  Lucius 
war"  Papirius  Cursor,  mentioned  above.     "  As  a  warrior  he  was 

Livy  ix.  16.  worthy  of  every  praise  ;  for  he  had  a  quick  mind  and  mar- 
vellous physical  strength.  In  speed  of  foot  he  excelled  all 
of  his  age,  — whence  came  the  name  of  Cursor  to  his  family. 
Much  practice  in  eating  and  drinking,  or  perhaps  his  re- 
markable health,  had  given  him  an  enormous  appetite  and 
digestion.  Never  wearied  by  toil  and  marching,  he  wore 
out  his  army,  foot  and  horse.  When  once  the  noble  strip- 
lings in  his  cavalry  ventured  to  ask  that,  as  they  had  be- 
haved well,  he  would  excuse  them  from  some  of  their  work, 
he  replied,  '  You  shall  not  say  that  no  indulgence  has 
been  granted  you  ;  I  excuse  you  from  rubbing  your  horses' 
backs  when  you  dismount.'  "  As  dictator  he  once  threat- 
ened to  have  Fabius,  his  master  of  horse,  killed  for  righting 
contrary  to  orders.  The  fact  that  the  officer  had  won  a 
1. ivy  viii.  30-  great  victory  by  so  doing  did  not  excuse  him  in  the  eyes  of 
35-  this  stern  disciplinarian  ;  only  the  prayers  of  the  senate  and 

l>.  58.  people    saved    him   narrowly.     Thereafter   these    two    men 

could  never  be  friends.     On  another  occasion,  "  when  the 


Policy  of  Conquest  57 

praetor,  or  chief  magistrate,  of  Praeneste  had  been  slow  in  Livy  ix.  16. 
bringing  his  troops  to  the  front,  Papirius  summoned  him  to 
his  tent  and  bade  the  lictor  make  ready  his  axe ;  then  as 
the  culprit  stood  frightened  nearly  to  death,  the  commander 
said,  '  Here,  lictor,  that  stump  is  in  the  way ;  hew  it 
down.'  "  Papirius  was  a  model  of  firmness,  strength,  and 
energy.  In  these  respects,  as  well  as  in  his  strict  discipline 
and  in  his  sense  of  responsibility  and  of  the  need  of  obedi- 
ence, he  was  the  ideal  Roman  of  the  age.  His  fellow-citi- 
zens, so  Livy  asserts,  would  have  confidently  matched  him 
against  Alexander  the  Great,  had  that  conqueror  carried  out 
his  plan  of  invading  Italy. 

After  the  disaster  at  the  Caudine  Pass,  the  war  dragged   Roman  policy 
on  from  year  to  year.     The  frequent  raids  of  both  parties   ofcon^uest 
across  the  border  rarely  culminated  in  a  battle.     In  general 
the  Samnites  desired  peace  ;  but  though  the  senate  was  will- 
ing to  grant   it,  the  people,   who  found  in  conquest  their 
only  remedy  for  overpopulation,  would  have  nothing  short 
of  submission.     It  was  the  policy  of   Rome  to  settle  and   P.  43. 
organize  every  foot  of  conquered  ground,  and  to  hem  in  her    (Two  new 
enemy  by  establishing  fortress  colonies  on  the  border.     In   ,nbes-3l8 

.  B.C.,  making 

312  b.  c,  Appius  Claudius  Caecus,  the  greatest  statesman  of  3I.) 

his  time,  bound  Campania  fast  to  the  imperial  city  by  a  mili-  AppianWav, 

tary  road  from  Rome  to  Capua,  named  after  him  the  Appian  3I2  ac- 

Way. 

It  seems  probable  that  the  same  statesman  provided  for  Grand  coaii 

building  the  first  Roman  fleet,  and  for  the  first  time  com-  *ion  a«ainst 

0  Rome,  311 

pelled  citizens  without  land  to  serve  in  the  army.     These   k.c 
new  measures  were  necessary,  for   the  ambitious  policy  of  Livy  ix.  32. 
his  city  was  arousing  new  enemies.     First  the  Etruscans  and 
the  Umbrians  joined  Samnium  ;  several   lesser   tribes   fol- 
lowed ;  all  Italy  seemed  aflame  with  war.     At  this  crisis  the 
consul  Fabius,  commander  against  the  Etruscans,  abandon- 


58 


Rome  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy 


ing  his  communications,  plunged  boldly  through  the  track- 
less Ciminian  forest.  Rome  feared  for  her  army,  which  had 
disappeared  from  sight ;  then  came  the  happy  news  that  it 
had  emerged  beyond  the  forest  and  was  plundering  the  rich 
fields  of  central  Etruria.  At  the  same  time  a  rumor  spread 
that  the  other  consul,  commanding  in  Samnium,  was  in 
danger.  The  government  could  do  nothing  but  appoint  a 
dictator  to  go  to  the  rescue.  The  senate's  messengers,  ac- 
cordingly, hurried  to  Fabius  and  urged  him  for  the  sake  of 
his  country  to  lay  aside  his  enmity  toward  Lucius  Papirius 
and  to  nominate  him  dictator.  "  The  consul,  casting  his 
eyes  to  the  ground,  left  the  messengers  in  doubt  as  to  what 
he  would  do.  Then  in  the  silent  time  of  night,  according 
to  the  established  custom,"  he  made  the  nomination  as  they 
wished. 

To  the  Samnites  the  struggle  with  Rome  had  become  a 
holy  war  in  defence  of  their  homes  and  their  altars.  In  the 
army  which  met  Papirius,  a  sacred  band,  sworn  to  conquer 
or  die,  stood  at  the  right  clad  in  white  tunics,  their  shields 
glittering  with  silver  bosses.  Another  band  wore  gayly 
colored  garments  with  gold-embossed  bucklers.  All  had 
loose  coats  of  mail,  while  on  their  helmets  tall  plumes 
waved.  The  fight  was  sharp  ;  "  the  plains  were  quickly 
filled  with  heaps  of  bodies  and  of  splendid  armor."  Rome's 
enemies  fell ;  and  the  aged  dictator  celebrated  his  last  and 
most  magnificent  triumph.  Years  afterward  on  festive  days 
the  silversmiths  of  Rome  continued  to  hang  these  silver  and 
golden  shields  in  front  of  their  shops  as  decorations  of  the 
Forum. 

The  opposition    to    Rome   weakened.      The  consuls  of 

war,  304  ii.c.   succeeciing  years  gained  fresh  victories,  ravaged  Etruria,  and 

Livy  ix.  45.      captured  the  strongholds  of  Samnium.     The  war  ended  in 

304  B.C. ;    though  the  Samnites  had  suffered  great  losses, 


P.  56. 


Livy  ix.  38. 


Great  victory 
of  Papirius, 
309  B.C. 
Livy  ix.  40. 


End  of  the 


Migration  of  the  Gauls  59 

they  remained  free.     With  spirits  still  unbroken,  they  con- 
sented to  a  renewal  of  the  former  treaty.     Rome  contented 
herself  with  imposing  these  easy  terms,  as  she  wished  to 
settle  and  to  organize  the  territory  won  in  the  war.     She    (Two  new 
aimed  to  cut  Samnium   off  from  Umbria  and  Etruria  by    "         ,2" 

B.C.,  making 

a  network  of  military  roads   and  strongly   fortified    Latin  33.) 
colonies  extending  through  central  Italy  ;  by  similar  means   Map,  p.  64. 
she  planned  to  secure  Apulia,  while  she  maintained  peace 
with  the  Greeks  in  the  south  of  the  peninsula. 

The  work  of  organization  might  have  continued  for  years,   Migration  of 
had  not  an  unforeseen  event  cut  it  short.     The  whole  Celtic 
race  was  in  commotion ;  hordes  of  these   people    invaded 
Greece,  Asia   Minor,  and  Italy  at  nearly  the    same    time. 
Those  who  came  to  Italy  swept  with  them  on  their  march   299  b.c 
the  earlier  Gallic  settlers  in  the  Po  valley.     As  they  pro-    P.  40. 
ceeded  southward  they  met  with  encouragement  and  sup-   Poiybius  ii. 
port ;  for  it  had  been  the  policy  of  Rome  to   attach  the   I9< 
allies  to  herself  by  upholding  the  rule  of  their  nobles.     The 
aristocrats  in  the  allied  cities,  accordingly,  relying  on  this 
foreign  help,  had  become  intolerably  proud  and  oppressive. 
When,  therefore,  the  Gauls  reached  Etruria,  the  commons, 
revolting  against  their   harsh  masters,  welcomed  the    bar- 
barians as  their  saviours  and    gladly  joined  them   against 
Rome.     For  similar  reasons  the  Lucanians,  the  Umbrians, 
and  some    lesser   tribes   began   war.     The   Samnites,  who  Third  Sam- 

occupied   the   citadel  of  the  peninsula,  and  who  were  the   m_e     ar' 
r  ,  r  298-290  B.C. 

soul  of  Italian  freedom,  inspired  and  directed  this  grand 

democratic  uprising  against  Rome,  the  stronghold  of  aris-   Livyx.  nff. 

tocracy.     To    hold    his    northern   allies    faithful,   Egnatius, 

the  Samnite  commander,  broke  through  the  Roman  barrier 

which  extended  across  central  Italy,  and  reached   Etruria 

at  the  head  of  a  great  army.     Rome  exerted  herself  to  the 

utmost  to  meet  this    formidable  league.     Never  had  Italy 


60  Rome  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy 

seen  armies  so  great  or  a  military  spirit  so  stubborn  as  in 
this  war,  which  was  to  determine  the  fate  of  the  peninsula. 

Battle  at  The  decisive  battle  was  fought  at  Sentinum   in  Umbria. 

Kc  The  Gallic  war  chariots  furiously  charged  the  Roman  left 

commanded  by  the  consul  Decius  ;  the  clatter  of  hoofs  and 

the  rolling  of  wheels  terrified  the  Roman  horses  and  put 

I. ivy  x.  28.  even  the  soldiers  to  disorderly  flight.  Then  at  the  dictation 
of  a  pontiff  who  stood  by  his  side,  Decius  solemnly  devoted 
himself  and  the  enemy  to  ruin  and  death:  "I  drive  before 
me  terror  and  flight,  blood  and  death,  the  rage  of  the  gods 
of  heaven  and  hell.  May  the  breath  of  the  furies  infect  the 
foemen's  arms  !  May  the  Gauls  and  the  Samnites  sink  with 
me  to  perdition  !  "  As  he  said  these  words,  he  dashed  on 
horseback  into  the  thickest  crowd  of  Gauls  and  perished 
on  their  spears.  Though  this  religious  act  had  little  effect 
on  the  barbarians,  it  rallied  the  Romans.  Strengthened  by  a 
force  which  Fabius,  the  other  commander,  sent  from  the  right 
wing,  they  advanced  to  the  attack  ;  their  javelins  pierced 
the  bulwark  of  Gallic  shields ;  the  barbarians  fled.  At  the 
same  time  Fabius  defeated  the  Samnites.  By  this  victory 
Rome  broke  the  league  of  her  enemies.  Deserted  by  their 
allies,  the  Samnites  held  out  resolutely  for  five  more  years. 
At  last  Manius  Curius  Dentatus,  a  peasant  who  by  personal 

290  b.c.  merit  had  raised  himself  to  the  consulship,  compelled  them 

to  sue  for  peace.     They  were  now  dependent  allies  of  Rome. 

Results  of  the  The  conflict  between  the  plain  and  the  mountains,  which, 
with  brief  interruptions,  had  raged  for  more  than  half  a 
century,  was  ended.  It  had  desolated  Italy  from  Etruria  to 
Lucania.  Cities  and  villages  were  in  ruins  ;  pastures  and 
cornfields  had  become  a  lonely  waste  ;  thousands  of  warriors 
had  fallen  in  battle  and  thousands  of  men,  women,  and 
children  once  free  were  now  slaves  of  the  Romans.  Civiliza- 
tion had  triumphed,  yet  at  a  great  cost ;  the  war  whetted 


struggle. 


War  with   Tarentum  61 

the   Roman  appetite  for  plunder  and  fostered  slavery,  the 
curse  of  ancient  society. 

Rome  next  designed  to  win  control  of  all  southern   Italy,    war  with 
Accordingly  she  planted  a  colony  of  twenty  thousand  men  at   2"     2  B'c 
Venusia,  in  a  strong  position  where  Samnium,  Apulia,  and 
Campania    meet,    with  a  view  to  keeping  the  surrounding 
tribes    in    check    and    to    cutting   Tarentum    off   from    the 
interior.     Then  she  openly  broke  her  treaty  with  the  Taren-   Appian,  For- 
tines,    who    called    on    Pyrrhus,   king   of   Epirus,   for    help.    1!fn 
This  king,  a  brilliant  military  genius,  came  with  a  small  but    piutarch, 
strong  body    of  troops  who  were  skilled  in  the  arms  and   ^yrrAus- 
tactics  of  the  Macedonian  phalanx.     He  first  met  the  enemy 
at    Heraclea.     Seven   times   the    light   battalions   of   Rome   Battle  at 
threw  themselves  against  his  "  hedge  of  spears,"  only  to  be   a8oBC 
repulsed    each    time    with    heavy    loss.       Then   his  trained 
elephants,  charging  the  weakened   enemy,   breached    their    Plutarch. 
lines  like  a  volley  of  artillery.     The  Romans  were  shrinking      w 
before    the    "  gray  oxen,"  as   they    called    these   enormous 
beasts,  when  a  sudden  dash  of  the  Thessalian  horse  completed 
their  ruin.     Allies  now  began  to  join  the  victorious  general, 
who  pushed  on  till  he  came  within  forty  miles  of  Rome.     So 
great  had  been  his  own  losses  in  the  recent  battle,  however, 
that  he  was  anxious  to  make  peace  with  the  enemy,  whose   Plutarch, 
bravery  and  discipline  he  admired.     Cineas,  his  ambassador, 
spoke  eloquently  in  the    senate ;    the    commons,  too,  pre- 
ferred peace,  that  they  might  settle  the  lands  acquired  in 
the  Samnite  wars.     But  Appius  Claudius,  now  old  and  blind, 
carried   on  a  litter  into  the  senate-house,  raised  his  voice 
against  these  shameful  proceedings,  —  "  Let  Pyrrhus  return 
home    and    then   we    may  make    peace  with  him,"  —  thus 
setting  forth  the  principle  that  thereafter  Rome  would  take 
care  of  the  interests  of  Italy.     Failing  to  win  his  cause  by 
eloquence  or  bribery,  Cineas  returned  to   his  master  with 


62 


Rome  becomes  Supreme  in  Italy 


Battle  at  As- 
culum,  279 
B.C. 


Battle  at 
Beneventum, 
27S  B-c- 

P.  60. 

Character  of 
Pyrrhus. 

Plutarch, 
Pyrrhus,  8, 
26. 


272  B.C. 


The  organi- 
zation of 
Roman  rule 
in  Italy. 

Tribes. 


the  report  that  the  Roman  senate  was  an  assembly  of  kings, 
and  that  the  destruction  of  one  army  at  Heraclea  had 
resulted  only  in  bringing  twice  as  many  fresh  troops  into- 
service.  He  won  another  battle  at  Asculum,  so  dearly  that 
he  remarked  to  his  friends,  "  Another  such  victory  will  ruin 
us."  Then  he  crossed  over  to  Sicily  to  aid  his  countrymen 
against  the  Carthaginians ;  but  even  with  his  brilliant  suc- 
cesses there,  he  failed  to  dislodge  the  enemy  from  the  island. 
Returning  with  a  few  veterans  to  Italy,  he  was  defeated  at 
Beneventum  by  Dentatus,  and  thereupon  withdrew  to  his 
home. 

Pyrrhus  was  noble  and  generous ;  his  contact  with  the 
Romans  inspired  even  that  boorish  people  with  courtesy 
to  their  foe.  And  when  his  troops  saw  the  splendid  figure 
of  their  commander  leading  in  the  hottest  of  the  battle,  or 
mounted  in  their  front  on  the  rampart  of  a  besieged  city, 
hewing  down  the  foe  with  his  sword,  they  thought  him  more 
than  human.  But  his  genius  was  only  for  war  :  he  knew  not 
how  to  complete  or  to  organize  his  conquests ;  he  failed  to 
attach  to  himself  the  peoples  he  had  come  to  assist.  The 
ease-loving  Greeks  of  Italy  and  Sicily  would  have  none  of 
the  discipline  to  which  he  subjected  them.  Refusing  the 
rule  of  this  chivalrous  king,  they  had  nothing  left  but  sub- 
mission to  a  nation  whose  speech  and  habits  they  had 
ridiculed  as  barbarous.  After  the  departure  of  Pyrrhus 
Tarentum  surrendered,  and  soon  Rome  became  mistress 
of  all  Italy  south  of  the  Rubicon. 

Within  this  territory  were  communities  of  every  grade 
of  privilege,  ranging  from  full  Roman  citizenship  to  subjec- 
tion. First  there  were  the  thirty-three  tribes,  —  soon  to  be 
increased  to  thirty-five,  —  containing  the  full  Roman  citi- 
zens and  occupying  much  of  the  country  which  lies  between 
the  Apennines  and  the  sea  and  extends  from  Caere  to  For- 


Organization  63 

miae.       Although    these    citizens   generally    lived    on   their    (P.  59,  mar- 
farms  or  in  villages,  they  had  a  few  larger  towns,  which  gin;        two 

°     '  J  °  tribes  in  241 

enjoyed  local  self-government.     Such  towns  were  municipia   B.c,  making 

of  the  highest  class.     Equally  privileged  were  the  Roman   35-) 
colonies  founded  mainly  on  the  coast  for  the  protection  of    Municipia. 
the  seaboard.     Municipia  of  the  second  class  enjoyed  self-   P.  49. 
government  and  citizenship,  except  the  right  to  vote  and  to   Roman  coio- 
hold  office  at  Rome.     A  third  class  of  municipia,  ruled  by   mes' 
prefects  sent  them    from    Rome,  were   called    prefectures.   Prefectures. 
Communities  were  reduced  to  this  class  generally  as  a  pun- 
ishment for  rebellion  or  for  other  grave  misconduct.     These 
were  the  various  grades  of  Roman  citizenship  ;  we  shall  now 
review  the  allies. 

Of  the  allied  communities,  the  nearest  to  the  Romans  in   Allies, 
race,  in  privileges,  and  in  friendship  were  the  Latins.     First   ^    . 
among   them  were   those   which  remained  of  the   original 
Latin  towns,  as  Tibur  and  Praeneste  ;  next  the  Latin  colo-   P.  53- 
nies  founded  in  various  parts  of  Italy,  usually  in  the  interior. 
The   colonists   were    Romans"  or   Romanized    Latins,    who 
prided  themselves  on  their  near  relations  with  the  mother 
city.     They  not  only  held  the  country  about  them  in  alle- 
giance to  the  central  government,  but  served  at  the  same 
time  as  a  means  of  spreading  the  Latin  language  and  civi- 
lization throughout  the  peninsula.     A  network  of  military 
roads  connected  them  with  one  another  and  with  the  gov- 
erning city.     Inferior  to  the  Latins  were  those  called  simply    (2)  The 
the   Italians,  as  for  instance  the  Samnites.     All  the  allied     taians- 
states,  while  exempt  from  taxation,  furnished  troops  for  the 
Roman  army,  with  the  exception  of  the  naval  allies,  who 
provided  ships  and  crews.     Rome  reserved  to  herself  the   P.  55. 
right  to  declare  war,  tc  make  peace,  and  to  coin  money, 
while  she  granted  to  the  allies  the  privilege  of  trading  with 
her  but  generally  not  with  one  another. 


64 


Rome  becomes   Supreme  i)i  Italy 


This  gradation  of  rights  gave  even  the  lowliest  community 
Rome  a  great   hope  of  bettering  its  condition  ;  it  isolated  the  allies  from 
one  another  and  bound  them  singly  to  the  central  power. 


power. 


CNQRA'ED  BY  BOflMAY  &  Co.,  s  Y 


The  system  here  described  extended  northward  only  to  the 
/Ksis  River ;  for  the  Senones,  a  tribe  of  Gauls  occupying 
the  Umbrian  coast,  now  under  Roman  rule,  were  not  allies 
but  tributary  subjects.     Indeed  it  was  chiefly  in  opposition 


A   Great  Power  65 

to  the  Gauls  that  the  Italians,  led  by  Rome,  had  come  to 
look  upon  themselves  as  one  people,  —  the  nation  of  the 
gown  against  the  nation  wearing  trousers.  This  federal  sys- 
tem, based  upon  Italian  nationality  and  directed  by  Rome, 
assured  to  the  peninsula  domestic  peace  and  to  the  leading 
city  a  place  among  the  great  states  of  the  world.  The  fore-  p.  116. 
most  powers  of  the  East  at  this  time  were  Egypt,  —  with 
which  Rome  allied  herself  in  273  B.C., —  Macedonia,  and 
the  Seleucid  empire  ;  of  the  West,  Carthage  and  Rome. 

Sources 

Livy  ii-xv  (of  bks.  xi-xv  we  have  but  a  brief  epitome) ;  Dionysius  Reading, 
v-xx  (of  the  last  ten  books  fragments  only  are  left);  Polybius  ii.  18-21 
(Gallic  invasion) ;  Velleius  Paterculus  i.  14  f.  (colonies);  Diodorus  xi. 
53;  xiv.  101  f,  113-116;  xvi.  15;  xix  ;  Plutarch,  Coriolanus ;  Ca- 
millus  ;  Pyrrhns  ;  Appian,  Foreign  Wars,  ii,  iii  ;  Florus  i.  9-26  ;  Eutro- 
pius,  i.  g — ii.  18;  Justin  xvii.  in-xviii.  2;  Pausanias  i.  II  f;  cf. 
Botsford,  Story  of  Rome,  ch.  iii. 

For  the  early  republic  the  sources  are  nearly  as  untrustworthy  as 
for  the  regal  period  (p.  37),  but  improve  as  we  pass  the  Gallic  invasion 
(p.  45)  and  approach  the  Samnite  and  Punic  Wars  (pp.  91,  146  f.). 

Modern  "Works 

Pelham,  Outlines  of  Roman  History,  bk.  II.  ch.  ii  ;  Shuckburgh, 
History  of  Rome,  chs.  vi,  \  ii,  ix-xii,  xiv,  xv  ;  How  and  Leigh,  History 
of  Rome,  chs.  vii,  x,  xi,  xiii-xvi  ;  Ihne,  Early  Rome,  chs.  xv-xvii,  xx, 
xxi  (to  the  Gallic  invasion);  History  of  Rome,  bk.  II.  chs.  iii-vi,  xiv- 
xvi,  xviii  ;  bk.  III.  chs.  i,  iv-vi,  viii-x,  xii-xvii  ;  Mommsen,  History  of 
Rome,  bk.  I.  chs.  vii-x  ;  bk.  II.  chs.  iv— vii  ;  Duruy,  History  of  Rome, 
II.  chs.  vii,  x,  xi,  xiv-xvii  ;  Taylor,  Constitutional  and  Political  History 
of  Rome,  ch.  vi  ;  Freeman,  Story  of  Sicily,  ch.  xiii  (for  Pyrrhus) ; 
Montesquieu,  Grandeur  and  Decadence  of  the  Romans,  chs.  i-iv. 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE    PLEBEIANS    WIN  THEIR    RIGHTS  (509-264  B.C.) 

First  Period  of  the  Republic  —  Internal  History 

Constitu-  While  Rome  was  gaining  the  supremacy  in  Italy,  impor- 

tant changes  were  taking  place  in  her  government  and  in 

opment,  509-  °  °    x  ° 

264  u.c.  the  condition  of  her  people.      The  number  of  magistrates 

was  increasing  as  the  duties  of  government  grew  more  nu- 
merous and  difficult ;  and  the  plebeians,  who  in  the  begin- 
ning were  excluded  from  office  and  from  public  influence, 
and  even  lacked  the  protection  of  the  laws,  gradually  won 
equality  in  all  respects  with  the  patricians  themselves. 

The  founding       In  509  B.C.,  the  monarchy  had  given  way  to  the  republic. 

of  the  repub-      h       .      ^    ^     citizens   without   distinction  of  rank    had 

lie,  509  B.C.  ° 

p.  37.  joined  in  expelling  the  king,  the  nobles  profited  most  by 

P.  24.  the  change  ;   for  as  they  alone  could  hold   priesthoods  and 

offices  and  sit  in  the  senate,  they  inherited  all  the  authority 
of  the  monarch  ;    and  the  great  patricians  who  composed 
the   senate  built   up  the  new  form  of  government  chiefly 
The  consuls,    in  their  own  interest.     As    they  had  failed  to  control  the 
p- 37-  life-long  king,  they  substituted  in  his  place  two  consuls- 

colleagues —  with  equal  power,  elected  annually  by  the  as- 
sembly. Selected  generally  from  the  senate,  and  returning 
to  it  at  the  close  of  their  year  of  office,  these  magistrates  pre- 
ferred to  serve  that  body  rather  than  the  people.  As  each 
consul  had  a  right  to  intercede  against  any  public  action  of 
the  other,  and  so  bring  it  to  naught,  the  two  rulers,  like  the 
Spartan  kings,  by  mutually  checking  one  another,  hindered 

66 


Consuls 


$7 


Livy  ii.  S  ; 
Plutarch, 
Popluola,  11. 


their  office  from  growing  all-powerful  to  the  detriment  of  Botsford, 
the  senate.  The  consuls  enjoyed  most  of  the  authority  of  Greece>V-61- 
the  king  together  with  his  trappings  and  attendants,  as  the 
curule  chair1  and  the  lictors.  A 
law  said  to  have  been  passed 
in  the  first  year  of  the  repub- 
lic compelled  them  in  capital 
cases  to  grant  an  appeal  to  the 
assembly ; 2  over  the  soldiers 
in  the  field,  however,  they  ex- 
ercised the  same  power  as  the 
king  had  possessed.  The  lic- 
tors, accordingly,  who  accom- 
panied the  consul  to  war,  still 
carried  his  axes  in  their  bun- 
dles of  rods  as  a  sign  of  his 
unlimited  authority  ;  but  on  re- 
turning with  him  to  the  city, 
they  removed  the  axes  from 
the  rods,  in  order  to  show 
that  he  was  no  longer  absolute 
master. 

Instead  of   dividing  between  them  the  duties  of  their  Alternate 
office,  the  consuls  usually  took  turns  in  managing  the  gov- 
ernment for  periods  of  a  month  each  ;  while  one  discharged    Dionvsius  v. 
the  functions  of  the  office  and  had  the  lictors  in  attendance,   2- 
the  other  through  his  right  of  veto  interfered  at  pleasure. 

1  Cf.  p.  26.  The  curule  magistrates  were  those  who  sat  in  curule 
chairs.  In  the  republican  period  they  were  the  consuls,  the  dictator, 
the  censors,  the  praetors,  and  the  curule  aediles.  If  a  man  elected  to 
one  of  these  offices  was  not  already  a  noble,  the  position  ennobled  him 
and  all  his  descendants  ;   p.  So. 

2  This  was  the  Valerian  Law.  It  is  doubtful  whether  it  was  passed 
so  early. 


27. 


Curule  Chair  and  Fasces 

(Relief  on  a  cippus,  Avignon.) 


68 


Plebeian  Rights 


The  dictator. 

Cicero,  Re- 
public, ii.  32; 
Dionysius  v. 
73  ft 


Assistants  of 
the  consuls. 

P.  27. 


Changes  in 
religion. 

P.  27  ff. 


I  .ivy  ii.  2. 


All  this  has  reference  to  the  administration  of  the  city.  The 
command  -of  the  army  usually  alternated  daily ;  and  even 
when  it  was  necessary  to  divide  the  forces,  each  was  still  at 
liberty  to  check  the  plans  of  the  other.  Often  in  dangerous 
wars  or  seditions  this  double  rule  was  a  disadvantage  to  the 
state.  In  such  a  case,  at  the  request  of  the  senate,  one 
of  the  consuls  nominated  a  dictator,  who,  placing  the  state 
under  martial  law,  ruled  with  absolute  power.  He  appointed 
a  master  of  horse  to  command  the  cavalry,  and  either  sus- 
pended the  ordinary  magistrates  or  retained  them  as  his 
assistants.  His  term  was  limited  to  six  months  ;  and  it  was 
an  honor  to  him  to  bring  the  government  safely  through  the 
crisis  and  resign  his  command  within  the  fewest  possible 
days. 

The  consuls,  who  were  the  only  magistrates  of  the  early 
republic,  had  assistants  like  those  of  the  king.  Two  quaes- 
tors, appointed  by  them,  kept  the  treasury  in  the  temple  of 
Saturn  in  the  Forum.  Two  other  quaestors  detected  crimes, 
and  two  judges  of  treason  —  duoviri  perduettionis — tried 
cases  of  treason  and  other  grave  offences  against  the  state, 
while  a  single  judge  sufficed  for  private  cases.  The  quaestors 
served  for  a  year ;  the  consuls  selected  judges  for  trials 
as  they  arose.  There  was  another  important  official,  the 
city  warden — prafectus  urbis —  whom  the  consuls  ap- 
pointed to  take  charge  of  the  administration  during  their 
absence. 

The  supervision  of  the  state  religion  passed  from  the 
king,  not  to  the  consuls,  but  to  the  chief  pontiff,  who  ap- 
pointed the  Vestals,  and  the  individual  priests,  including  the 
"  sacrificial  king  "  —  rex  sacrorum  — now  instituted  to  per- 
form that  part  of  the  public  worship  which  the  king  had 
attended  to  in  person,  in  order  that  the  gods  might  not 
miss  their  customary  offerings.     This  priest-king,  in  title  the 


Comitia   Ccnturvata  69 

first  man  in  the  state,  was  the  weakest  in  real  power,  as  he 
could  hold  no  political  office. 

All  important  places  of  honor  and  trust  —  military,  politi-  The  senate, 
cal,  and  religious  —  were  filled  by  patricians,  especially  by 
senators.  Now  enlarged  to  three  hundred  members,  the  Pp.  3.  25- 
senate  continued  to  exercise  all  the  functions  it  had  per- 
formed under  the  king.  It  even  gained  by  the  downfall  of 
royalty ;  for  the  consuls  felt  themselves  under  greater  obli- 
gations to  consult  it  on  important  questions  and  to  abide  by 
its  decisions.  A  body  composed  of  members  for  life,  who 
were  taken  from  the  leading  families  and  were  men  of  expe- 
rience and  ability,  must  have  been  more  influential  than  the 
consuls,  who  at  the  close  of  their  year  of  office  could  be 
called  to  account  for  their  administration.  As  the  senate 
controlled  both  the  magistrates  and  the  assembly,  it  was  the 
chief  power  in  the  republic. 

In  place  of  the  old  gathering  of  the  curiae,  a  new  assembly   The  comitia 
—  the  comitia  ceniuriata  —  gradually  grew  up.     During  the   centunata 
first  half-century  of  the  republic,  Rome  was  constantly  at    p.  40. 
war  with  her  neighbors.     Every  year  the  army  was  in  the 
field  ;    and  the  commanders  in  their  military  cloaks  ruled 
the  city  from  their  tents.     They  called  to  their  council  of 
war  the  officers  of  their  staff  ;  often,  too,  the  six  centuries 
of  patrician  knights  ;  and  sometimes  assembled  the  entire    P.  33  f. 
army,  that  the   soldiers   might    hear  their  plans.       In   this 
council  of   war  and  army  muster  lay  the  beginning  of  the 
comitia   centuriata.      We  shall  not    attempt  to  follow  the 
steps  by  which  this  assembly  grew ;  it  is  enough  to   know 
that  after  years  of  development  it  contained  eighteen  cen- 
turies of  cavalry,  eighty  centuries  of  the  first  or  wealthiest   Liwi.  43. 
class,  twenty  of  the  second,  third,  and  fourth  classes  respec- 
tively, twenty-eight  of  the  fifth  class,  and  seven  of  musicians, 
workmen,  and  others   exempt  from  regular  service   in  the 


jo  Plebeian  Rights 

ranks  —  in  all,  a  hundred  and  ninety-three.1  The  centuries 
of  which  this  assembly  was  composed  did  not  necessarily 
contain  a  hundred  men  each,  but  were  voting  units  varying 
in  size.  A  century  of  juniors  was  larger  than  one  composed 
of  seniors,  while  that  of  the  proletarians  —  the  landless  — 
was  by  far  the  largest  of  all.  At  some  time  in  the  early 
republic  the  comitia  centuriata,  thus  organized,  took  the 
place  of  the  comitia  curiata.  Thereafter  the  centuries, 
meeting  in  the  Campus  Martius  outside  the  city,  elected  the 
magistrates,  heard  appeals  in  capital  cases,  voted  on  propo- 
sals for  laws  and  for  wars,  and  ratified  the  treaties  made  by 
their  commanders, 
voting.  The  knights  voted  first,  then  the  five  classes  in  their  order 

Dionysius        till  a  majority  was  reached  for  or  against  the  proposition.     If 
iv.  20.  the  knights  and  the  highest  class,  who  together  formed  the 

majority  of  centuries,  agreed,  they  decided  the  question,  so 
that  the  voting  proceeded  no  farther.  It  rarely  happened 
that  all  the  centuries  were  called  upon  to  give  their  votes. 

1  Note  Juniors  Seniors 

(17-46  years)  (above  46  years) 

I.  Class 40  centuries 40  centuries 

II.      "       10        "  10 

III.  "       10        "  10 

IV.  "       10        "  10 

v.    ••    14     "        y     " 

84  84 

168  centuries 

Cavalry l8 

Substitutes  for  the  killed  and  wounded  .     .         2        " 

Musicians  and  workmen 4 

Proletarians 1 

Total 193  centuries 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  tin-  Servian  army  of  two  legions  contained  but 
six  centuries  of  cavalry  and  the  eighty-four  centuries  of  junior  infantry. 
The  remaining  twelve  centuries  of  cavalry  were  added  long  after  the  begin- 
ning of  the  republic,  and  the  seniors,  substitutes,  etc.,  were  organized  in 
centuries  merely  for  voting  purposes. 


Roman  Assemblies  71 

The  comitia  curiata  continued  to  meet  to  confer  the  im-   Thecomitia 

curiata. 

perium  upon  the  newly  elected  magistrates  and  to  attend  to 
other  such  formalities.     It  had  no  longer  a  real  authority  and   P.  26. 
was  generally  ill  attended  ;  thirty  lictors  cast  the  votes  of  the 
curiae,  and  three  augurs  were  present  to  see  that  the  religious 
ceremonies  were  duly  performed. 

In  the  comitia  curiata  all  had  an  equal  vote  ;  but  the  Ser-   The  two  as- 
vian  reorganization  of  the  army  wrought  a  great  change  :  the   compared, 
rich,  who  in  the  new  army  equipped  themselves  with  the   p.  34. 
strongest  and  most  expensive  weapons,  insisted  on  having 
more  power  in  the  assembly  than  those  who  carried  light 
arms  or  were   altogether  exempt   from  service  on  account 
of  poverty.     By  introducing  privileges  graded  according  to 
•wealth  and  military  equipment,  the  new  assembly  elevated 
the  rich  and  degraded  the  poor. 

In   estimating    the    political   importance  of  any  Roman   Theimpor- 

.    j         .  tance  of  the 

assembly,  however,  the  question  as  to  who  attended  or  how   Roman  as_ 
they  voted  is  secondary.     We  must    chiefly  bear  in  mind   sembiy. 
that  the  presiding  magistrate  alone  had  the  right  to  propose 
measures  and  to  present  candidates  for  election  ;  that  he  and 
those  he  invited  monopolized  the  speaking  ;  that  the  common 
members  had  merely  the  right  to  vote.     Then  if  the  result 
displeased  the  magistrates  or  the  nobles,  they  could  annul  it 
by  having  the  augurs  declare  that  some  religious  rite  con- 
nected with  the  business  had  not  been  duly  observed,1  or  the 
senate  could  refuse  its  sanction.     This  applies  to  elections 
as  well  as  to  laws  and  other  resolutions.     In  contrast  with   Botsford, 
the  Athenian  assembly,  that  of  Rome  continued  to  the  end    Greece,  P. 
dependent  on  the  will  of  the  senate  and  magistrates.     The 
difference  between  Athenian  and  Roman  constitutional  his- 
tory hinges  on  this  point. 

1  The  plebeian  assembly,  however,  was  free  from  the  auspices ;  p.  75. 


72  Plebeian  Rig/its 

Thepiebe-  In  most  respects  the  common  people  lost  by  the  overthrow 

of  monarchy.     Especially  the  later  kings,  while  striving  to 

Dionysius  vi.   repress  the  growing  power  of  the  patricians,  protected  the 

74;     uir-        p00r  ana[  freed  many  of  them  from  clientage,  assuring  them 

head,  Roman    *  J  . 

Law,p.B8.  justice  in  the  courts  of  law  and  shielding  them  from  the 
oppression  of  the  nobles  and  the  exactions  of  landlords. 
Accordingly  there  may  be  some  truth  in  the  story  that  as 
long  as  Tarquinius  Superbus  lived,  the  patricians  treated  the 
plebeians  with  great  kindness,  but  began  to  oppress  them  as 
soon  as  they  received  news  of  his  death.  Now  that  all  fear 
of  a  relapse  to  the  monarchy  was  at  an  end,  and  the  poor  no 
longer  had  a  champion,  the  patricians  began  to  reduce  the 

P.  24.  small  farmer  to  the  condition  of  client  from  which  the  kings 

had  freed  him.  They  exacted  illegal  or  excessive  rents  y 
arrears  they  regarded  as  debts  bearing  heavy  interest.  The 
creditor  had  a  legal  right  to  seize  the  delinquent  debtor  and 
his  children,  to  hold  them  as  slaves  till  they  had  worked  off 
the  debt,  or  to  sell  them  into  actual  servitude  to  foreigners. 
A  harsh  creditor  sometimes  threw  his  debtors  into  his  private 
prison  and  scourged  or  otherwise  maltreated  them  in  the 
hope  of  influencing  their  kinsmen  to  redeem  them.  Livy, 
the  historian,  tells  us  that  once  "  a  certain  aged  man  ran 
into  the  Forum  with  all  the  badges  of  his  miseries  upon  him. 
His  clothes  were  squalid,  his  pale  emaciated  body  was  still 

Livy  ii.  23.  more  shocking,  while  his  long  beard  and  hair  gave  him  a 
wild,  savage  look.  In  spite  of  his  wretchedness,  people  rec- 
ognized him  as  a  centurion  and  pityingly  spoke  of  the  dis- 
tinctions he  had  gained  in  war.  He  himself  showed  a  breast 
scarred  in  honorable  battles.  When  asked  whence  came 
that  wretched  garb  and  that  ghastly  appearance,  he  said  to 
the  crowd  which  had  gathered  about  him  '  While  I  served 
in  the  Sabine  War,  the  enemy  pillaged  my  land,  burned  my 
house,  and  drove  my  cattle  away.     I  borrowed  money  to  pay 


Plebeian   Tribunes  J}, 

my  taxes ;  the  debt  increased  till  it  robbed  me  of  my  fore- 
fathers' estate,  and  then  the  mischief  reached  my  body,  for 
my  creditor  put  me  not  into    slavery  but  into  a  house  in 
which  he  scourges  and  slays  his  victims.'     He  then  showed 
his  back  disfigured  by  fresh  blows."     Though  the  debt  came 
probably  not  from  taxes,  which  were  light  in  early  times,  but 
from  the  exactions  of  landlords,  we  may  believe  that  Livy  First  seces- 
has  given  us  a  true  picture  of  the  miseries  of  the  poor.     The     '  . 
people  revolted  against  such  injustice  ;  the  whole  army,  de-   493  b.c 
serting  the  commanders,  marched  off  in  good  order  to  a  hill 
afterward  known  as  the  Sacred  Mount,  and  threatened  to 
found  a  new  city  there,  which  should  be  free  from  patrician 
control.     They  had  selected  as  their  future  country  the  land   Varro,  De 
beyond  the  Anio  recently  won  from  the  enemy  and  admitted   L'"Sua  Ia- 

,  una,  v.  81. 

as  the  twenty-first  tribe,  —  the  first  tribe  which  had  not  fallen 

under  the  rule  of  the  lords.     The  senate,  helpless  without 

the  support  of  the  plebeian  army,  sent  them  an  ambassador. 

At  this  time  the  Romans  knew  nothing  of  a  written  con-   The  tribunes 

stitution  or  even  of  written  laws.     Accordingly,  though  the   of  the  plebs' 

0  J  °  493  B.C. 

patricians  were  willing  to  grant  concessions,  it  did  not  occur 
to  them  to  draw  up  a  "  charter  of  liberties  "  for  the  plebe- 
ians. Instead  of  this  the  government  made  a  treaty  with  Livy  i.  33; 
them,  which  assured  them  the  protection  they  needed.  By  lonysms  vl- 
the  terms  of  this  agreement  the  plebeians  were  to  have  two 
annual  officers  of  their  own,  called  tribunes,  whose  persons 
were  to  be  sacred  and  who  were  to  protect  all  plebeians  who 
felt  themselves  mistreated  or  oppressed.  Any  person,  even 
a  consul,  who  injured  a  tribune  or  hindered  him  in  the  exer- 
cise of  his  duties,  might  be  slain  by  any  one  as  a  man 
accursed.  Usually,  however,  an  aggrieved  tribune  con- 
tented himself  with  inflicting  a  milder  penalty,  as  a  fine  or 
imprisonment.  The  law  forbade  the  tribune  to  be  absent 
from   the  city  over  night  and  compelled  him  to  leave  his 


74 


Plebeian  Rig/its 


The  organi- 
zation of  the 
plebs. 


Dionysius  vi. 
89. 


door  open  always,   that  the  injured  and  oppressed   might 
find  refuge  with  him  at  any  hour. 

The  plebeians  had  two  other  officers  named  sediles,  who 
were  stewards  of  the  temple  of  Ceres  recently  built  at  the 
foot  of  the  Aventine.     The  worship  of  Ceres  in  this  temple 

was  an  imitation  of 
that  of  the  Greek 
Demeter,  and  was 
performed  in  the 
Greek  language  by 
priestesses  from  Na- 
ples. As  the  goddess 
of  agriculture  Ceres 
blessed  the  farmers, 
their  fields,  and  their 
produce.  The  estates 
of  those  who  offended 
the  tribunes  became 
her  property.  The 
plebeians  had  not 
only  their  religious 
worship,  but  also  an 
assembly  which  they 
could  control.  In 
the  curiae  under  the 
presidency  of  the 
tribunes  they  elected 
officers  and  passed  resolutions,  which  were  binding  only  on 
themselves.  With  their  religious  and  political  organization 
they  maintained  the  liberties  they  had  and  gradually  gained 
more  rights. 

The  plebeians  soon  found  an  earnest  helper  in  one  of  the 
patricians,  Spurius  Cassius,  the  most  eminent  statesman  of 


Ceres 

(Vatican  Museum,  Rome.) 


Comitia   Tributa  75 

his  time.     While  he  was  consul,  in  4S6  r.c.,  he  proposed   The  agrarian 
an  agrarian  law,  the  contents  of  which  we  do  not  know.    He   ~    °    pui^"£ 
may  have  wished  to  take  some  of  the  public  land  from  the   b.c. 
rich,  who  were  holding  it,  and  to  distribute  it  among  the   P.  40. 
poor ;  or  he  may  have  aimed  to  give  the  peasants  a  better   p.  72. 
title  to  their  lands.     The  proposal  never  became  a  law ; 
either  it  did  not  pass  the  assembly  or  the  senate  refused 
to  sanction  it.     The  patricians  asserted  that  he  had  offered 
the  measure  merely  to  win  popularity,  —  that  his  real  object 
was  to  make  himself  king.     When,  therefore,  his  term  of 
office  expired,   the    quaestors  prosecuted    him   for   treason, 
and  he  was  condemned  to  death. 

The  fate  of  Cassius  shows  how  helpless  the  plebeians  still   The  law  of 
were  and   how  strong  were  their  oppressors.     Though  by   Publlllus  Vo~ 
means  of  their  auspices  the  nobles  could  not  control  the 
plebeian    assembly,    they   with    their   clients    attended   the 
meetings  to  impede  the  business.     Among  these  depend- 
ents  were   many   who    owned    no   land.     To    destroy   the 
influence    of  the   latter   class,   Publilius  Volero,   a  tribune 
in  471  b.c,  induced  the  senate  and  the  assembly  of  centuries 
to   pass   a  law  which  provided   that   the   plebeian    comitia    p.  73. 
should  vote  by  tribes,  each  of  the  twenty-one  tribes  to  cast 
a  single    vote.     As  only  landowners  were   enrolled   in  the 
tribes  the  landless  were  excluded  from  the  assembly.     The   Livyiii.  30; 

newly  organized  gathering,  called  the  comitia  tfilutta,  had  as    Dlonysms  x- 

30. 
yet  no  authority  over  the  state,  but  met  simply  for  the  trans- 
action of  plebeian  business.     In  the  same  year  the  number   Diodoms  xi. 
of  tribunes  was  doubled,  and  somewhat  later  was  increased  68- 
to  ten. 

Hitherto  we  have  thought  of  the  tribunes  as  protectors  of    The  country 
the  commons  without  distinction;  officially  henceforth  they   f^s  *"* the 
represented  rather  the  country  plebeians,  who  owned  land, 
and  who  through  their  tribal  assembly  were  to  gain  great 


76 


Plebeian  Rights 


The  struggle 
for  written 
laws,  462- 
452  B.C. 

P.  24. 

Cicero,  Re- 
public, ii. 
36  f ;  Livy  iii. 
9  ff ;    Diony- 
sius  x.  1  if. 


political  influence.  The  landless,  on  the  contrary,  consist- 
ing chiefly  of  city  plebeians,  remained  inferior ;  for  they 
lacked  the  means  of  making  their  wishes  known  and  felt. 
The  two  branches  of  the  plebs  often  conflicted,  and  states- 
men found  it  difficult  to  harmonize  them  in  the  interest  of 
reform. 

Up  to  this  time  the  laws  were  unwritten.  The  patricians, 
who  were  alone  acquainted  with  them,  handed  them  down 
orally  from  father  to  son.  This  exclusive  knowledge  they 
used  for  die  oppression  of  the  commons ;  the  patrician 
judge  decided  cases  in  favor  of  men  of  his  own  rank,  and 
no  plebeian  could  quote  the  law  as  proof  of  the  injustice. 
In  462  B.C.  Gaius  Terentilius,  a  tribune,  began  to  urge  the 
codification  of  the  laws  in  the  interest  of  the  class  he  repre- 
sented. Though  the  patricians  were  successful  in  opposing 
him,  the  tribunes  of  the  following  years,  taking  up  his  cause, 
carried  on  the  struggle  without  interruption.  Their  aims 
were  heartily  favored  by  one  of  the  patricians,  Appius 
Claudius,  a  man  of  rare  intelligence  and  ability.1  Under 
the  influence  of  Appius  and  the  tribunes  the  senate  yielded, 
and  sent  a  committee  to  some  of  the  Greek  states  of  Italy 
to  examine  their  codes  of  law,  the  earliest  and  most  famous 
of  which  was  that  of  Zaleucus,  the  Locrian.  It  is  possible 
that  this  committee  went  even  to  Athens  to  look  over  the 
laws  of  Solon,  some  of  which  were  still  in  force.  On  their 
return,  the  consul  Sestius,  with  the  consent  of  the  senate, 
offered  to  the  centuries  a  bill  which  provided  that  ten  men 
—  decemviri — with  the  power  of  consuls,  should  be  elected 
for  the  purpose  of  writing  the  laws,  and  that  during  their 
term  of  one  year  they  should  have  absolute  control  of  the 


Livy  iii.  31 ;  J  The    story  of   the    decemvirs   as    told    by   the    ancient    writers    is 

Dionysius  x.     undoubtedly  a  political  falsehood.     The  narrative  given  in  this  book 
51.  aims  to  present  the  few  known  facts  in  their  true  light. 


Botsfoid, 
Greece,  p.  32. 


The  decem- 
virs, 451- 
449  li.C. 


Decemvirs  J? 

government,  all  other  offices,  including  the  tribunate  of  the   The  first 
plebs,  being   suspended.     With   the    support   of  Claudius,   >e' 
consul-elect,    the    bill   became   a   law.     Though   plebeians 
were  eligible  to  the  new  board  of  ten,  the  assembly  elected 
only  patricians,   among  them   Claudius.     "  He  desired    to   Dionysius  x. 
make  such  laws  for  his  country  as  should  bring  peace  and  54- 
concord ;  he  wished  to  teach  the  citizens  by  his  own  exam- 
ple to  look  upon  the  republic  as  one  body."     As  he  was  the 
ablest  of  the  decemvirs,  and  the  only  man  among  them  with 
a  well-considered  plan,  all  looked  to  him  as  the  head  of 
that  body.     Before  the  year  ended  they  had  engraved  ten 
tables  of  the  law,  which,  after  ratification  by  the  senate  and 
people,  they  set  up  in  the   Forum,  where  all   could  read 
them. 

As  they  had  not  finished  writing  the  laws  and  as  their  The  second 
government  gave  satisfaction  to  all  alike,  it  was  decided  to 
elect  decemvirs  for  the  following  year.  Some  of  the  patri- 
cians wished  even  to  continue  this  form  of  government  in- 
definitely, as  it  would  rid  them  of  the  troublesome  tribunes 
and  would  assure  to  their  rank  the  control  of  the  govern- 
ment. Assenting  in  the  main  to  this  proposition,  Claudius 
determined  nevertheless  that  the  plebeians  should  have  rep- 
resentatives on  the  board.  He  favored  especially  the  mer- 
cantile and  industrial  classes,  and  undoubtedly  hoped  to  see 
Rome  a  great  centre  of  trade  and  traffic,  like  Corinth  or 
Syracuse.  -He  wished  to  engrave  on  the  following  tables 
certain  laws  beneficial  to  these  classes,  especially  some 
regulations  of  weights  and  measures,  of  coinage  and  the 
calendar.  Presiding  over  the  assembly  which  chose  new 
decemvirs,  he  secured,  accordingly,  his  own  reelection,  and 
filled  the  remaining  places  with  men  who  shared  his  views, 
—  three,  possibly  five,  of  whom  were  plebeians.  His  man- 
agement of  the  elections,  together  with  his  radical  commer- 


?8  Plebeian  Rights 

cial  policy,  roused  much  ill  feeling.  All  the  conservative 
patricians  now  began  to  oppose  him  bitterly.  By  insisting 
further  that  intermarriage  between  the  two  ranks  should  be 
prohibited  by  a  law  of  the  tables,  as  it  had  always  been 
forbidden  by  custom,  he  angered  the  richer  plebeian 
families,  who  were  now  seeking  alliance  by  marriage  with 
the  nobles.  In  support  of  their  natural  leaders  the  peas- 
ants turned  against  Claudius,  who  henceforth  had  only  the 
city  plebs  and  a  few  liberal  patricians  to  rely  upon.  As  the 
senate  and  people  refused,  accordingly,  to  consider  the  two 
tables  engraved  in  the  second  year,  Claudius,  with  his  col- 
leagues, determined  to  remain  in  office  till  they  secured  the 
ratification ;  for  the  constitution  compelled  no  magistrate 
Political  to  retire  against  his  will.     Hereupon  their  enemies  accused 

falsehoods.  tnem  0f  acting  like  tyrants  and  of  attempting  to  maintain 
themselves  in  power  for  life.  There  is  a  story,  undoubtedly 
invented  by  the  aristocrats,  that  these  magistrates  induced 
some  soldiers  to  murder  a  certain  ex-tribune,  Sicinius,  for 
stirring  up  strife  against  them.  Another  story,  equally 
improbable,  represents  Claudius  as  seized  with  an  unholy 
passion  for  Virginia,  a  plebeian  girl.  To  get  her  into  his 
power,  it  is  said  that  he  adjudged  her  as  a  slave  to  one 
of  his  clients,  and  that  the  father,  to  save  his  child  from 
dishonor,  killed  her  with  a  knife.  Indignation  aroused  by 
these  acts  is  given  as  the  cause  of  the  overthrow  of  the 
decemvirs.  It  is  far  easier,  however,  to  believe  that  these 
stories  are  aristocratic  falsehoods  for  blackening  the  mem- 
ory of  the  decemvirs  than  it  is  to  imagine  that  the  man  who 
gave  his  country  the  priceless  treasure  of  just  laws  could  be 
himself  a  monster  of  injustice  and  cruelty. 
The  over-  In   fact,   the   overthrow   of  the   decemvirs   resulted  from 

decemvu-she     Political  feelings  excited  by  their  plans  of  reform.     Inflamed 
449B.C.  by  the   ex-tribunes,  the    plebeians    seceded   again   to    the 


Valerian-Horatian  Lazv's  79 

Sacred  Mount,  and  thus  compelled  the   senate  to  depose   P.  73. 
the   decemvirs  contrary  to  law.     Claudius  and  one  of  his 
colleagues  were  thrown  into  prison,  where  they  were  prob- 
ably murdered ;  the  other  members  of  the  board  fled  into 
exile.     Then  Valerius  and   Horatius,   consuls  in  449   B.C., 
secured  the  ratification  of  the  two  tables,  apparently  after 
having  made  some  alterations  in   them.     The  prohibition 
of  intermarriage  between  the  ranks  remained  unchanged. 
With  this  exception  the  laws  of  the  Twelve  Tables  equalized 
the  private  rights  of  all  and  continued  to  be  the  fountain   Livy  in.  34. 
of  justice  for  centuries.     As  a  part  of  their  education  the 
boys  even  of  Cicero's  time  had  to  commit  them  to  memory,   Cicero, Laws, 
—  a  text-book  more  useful  than  entertaining.  "•  4i  23- 

Valerius  and  Horatius,  who  were  popular  with  the  peas-  The  vaierian- 
ants,  easily  reconciled  the  lower   classes  to  the  patricians  Laws,  440 
by  passing  a  law  which  provided  that,  with   the  previous   b.c. 
consent  of  the  senate,  the  resolutions  of  the  comitia  tributa  P.  75- 
should  be  binding  on  the  whole  people.     As  the  organiza- 
tion and,  up  to  this  time,  the  presiding  officers  were  plebeian, 
the  acts  of  the  tribal  assembly  expressed  the  will  of  the  infe-   Dionysius  xi. 
rior  rank.     Soon,  however,  state  officers  began  to  call  this  45' 
comitia  for  the  election  of  such  minor  officials  as  the  quaestors, 
and  occasionally  for  other  business.     About  the  same  time  it   increased 
was  agreed  that  the  tribunes  should  place  their  bench  at  the   Power  ° 

0  ■"■  tribunes. 

door  of  the  senate-house,  through  which  they  could  listen  to 
the  proceedings  within.  Thereafter  if  the  senate  passed  an 
act  to  which  they  had  no  objection,  they  signed  it,  thus 
abandoning  their  right  to  oppose  it  in  the  assembly.  But 
if  the  consul  proposed  a  measure  which  displeased  them, 
their  "  Veto"  shouted  through  the  door,  caused  the  meas- 
ure to  be  dropped.  This  simple  word  of  theirs  prevailed 
against  the  magistrates  when  in  the  city,  and  against  the 
senate    and    assemblies.      They   could    close    the    treasury 


8o 


Plebeian  Rights 


The  Canu- 
leian  Law, 
445  B.C. 
Livy  iv.  1-6. 


P.  29. 


The  consular 
tribunes, 
444-367  B.C. 
Livy  iv.  6 ; 
Dionysius  xi. 
53-6i. 


Polybius  vi. 
53- 


by  placing  their  seal  on  the  door;  a  single  tribune 
could  stop  the  entire  machinery  of  government.  With 
this  absolute  power  of  prohibition  as  their  weapon,  the 
leaders  of  the  plebs  resumed  the  struggle  for  equality  of 
rights. 

A  few  years  after  the  consulship  of  Valerius  and  Horatius, 
a  law  of  the  tribune  Canuleius  permitted  intermarriage  be- 
tween the  two  ranks.  This  reform  directly  affected  only 
the  tribunician  families,  —  that  is,  those  influential  plebeian 
families  which  had  already  an  hereditary  claim  upon  the 
tribuneship.  Though  long  before  the  passage  of  this  law 
they  had  wished  to  secure  the  right  to  hold  state  offices, 
a  religious  difficulty  stood  in  the  way ;  for  Jupiter,  through 
the  auspices,  revealed  his  will  only  to  those  of  noble  blood. 
But  by  intermarriage  with  this  especially  privileged  class, 
the  plebeian  leaders  had  hoped  to  come  into  favor  with  the 
gods  and  thus  to  break  down  the  religious  barrier  in  their 
way  to  office.  They  reasoned  rightly  ;  for  immediately  after 
the  passage  of  the  Canuleian  law  the  patricians  formed  a 
plan  of  admitting  them  to  office,  though  not  to  the  consul- 
ship. It  was  agreed  that  whenever  the  senate  so  deter- 
mined, military  tribunes  with  consular  power,  —  or  more 
briefly,  consular  tribunes,  —  should  be  elected  for  the  year 
in  place  of  consuls,  and  that  both  ranks  should  be  alike 
eligible  to  this  office.  Their  reason  for  this  arrangement  is 
clear  :  the  consuls  were  highly  honored  magistrates,  who  at 
the  close  of  their  term  became  influential  members  of  the 
senate.  Besides  other  distinctions,  they  and  their  descend- 
ants enjoyed  the  privilege  of  setting  up  in  their  halls  waxen 
masks  of  their  ancestors  and  of  having  these  masks  worn 
in  procession  at  their  family  funerals.  This  peculiar  form 
of  ancestor  worship  distinguished  the  nobles  from  the  com- 
mons.    In  other  words,  the  consulship  ennobled  forever  the 


Censors  8 1 

family  of  the  occupant.1  Now  as  the  military  tribunate, 
even  when  invested  with  the  consular  power,  conferred  no 
such  honor,  the  patrician  senate,  in  occasionally  substituting 
this  magistracy  for  the  consulship,  and  in  opening  it  to  ple- 
beians, granted  them  office  without  nobility.  The  number 
of  consular  tribunes  ranged  from  three  to  six.  For  nearly 
half  a  century,  however,  the  patricians,  by  influence  and 
intrigue,  prevented  the  plebeians  from  holding  this  office. 
Most  of  the  commons  even  preferred  patrician  magistrates, 
as  they  lacked  confidence  in  the  military  talent  of  their  own 
leaders.  The  plebeians  who  were  ambitious  for  office  found, 
accordingly,  that  the  consular  tribunate  brought  them  no 
advantage. 

All  the  duties  of  the  consuls  did  not  pass  to  their  sub-   The  censors, 
stitutes,  the  consular  tribunes ;  for  soon  after  the  institution  q^ 
of  the  latter  office  the  Romans  created  two  new  patrician   Livy  iv.  8. 
magistrates,  the  censors,  whose  chief  duty  was  to  make  a 
register  of  the  citizens  and  their  property  and  to  assign  each 
man  to  his  tribe  and  class,  —  a  work  hitherto  performed 
by  the  consuls.     They  also  farmed  the  taxes  and  attended 
to  the  erection  of  public  buildings.     Like  the  consuls,  the 
censors  were  chosen  by  the  comitia  centuriata,  and  were   P.  26. 
curule  magistrates,  though  without  the  imperium.     Elected 
at  intervals,  usually  of  five  years,  they  were  required  to  com- 
plete the  census  within  eighteen  months  after  their  entrance 
into  office, -unless  the  senate  granted  them   an   extension 
of  time.     This  office  was  instituted  not  only  to  make  the 
census  more  regular  and  more  effective,  but  also  to  debar 
consular  tribunes,  who  might  be  plebeians,   from   the   im- 
portant functions  which  the  censors  assumed. 

Soon  after  the  institution  of  the  censorship,  there  was  a 

1  With  the  exception  of  the  consular  tribunate,  all  curule  offices  con- 
ferred nobility;   p.  67,  n.  I. 
G 


82 


Plebeian  RigJits 


Spurius 
Maelius. 

Dionysius 
xii.  4 ;  Livy 
iv.  12  ff. 


The  military 
quaestors, 
421  B.C. 
Livy  iv.  43. 

P.  68. 


famine  in  Rome ;  and  with  the  petty  means  he  employed, 
the  patrician  supervisor  of  the  market  found  it  impossible 
to  relieve  the  distress.  In  these  circumstances  Spurius 
Maelius,  a  wealthy  plebeian,  with  his  own  money,  bought 
up  grain  from  the  neighboring  states  and  distributed  it  free 
among  the  suffering.  His  generosity  made  him  so  popular 
that  he  might  easily  have  won  the  consular  tribunate,  or 
perhaps  even  the  consulship,  had  he  offered  himself  as  a 
candidate.  The  patricians,  however,  prevented  this  by 
charging  him  with  attempting  to  make  himself  king;  it  was 
with  this  end  in  view,  they  asserted,  that  he  had  striven  for 
popularity.  Though  the  charge  was  utterly  groundless,  the 
senate  proclaimed  him  a  traitor,  whom  any  one  might  kill 
as  a  man  accursed.  Servilius  Ahala,  a  patrician,  undertook 
the  deed.  Meeting  Maelius  in  the  Forum,  he  called  him 
aside  under  pretence  of  wishing  to  speak  with  him,  and 
then  stabbed  him  with  the  dagger  he  had  concealed  be- 
neath his  arm.  The  Romans  of  after  time  looked  upon 
Maelius  as  a  despicable  traitor  and  Servilius  as  a  citizen 
whom  all  should  imitate. 

Notwithstanding  such  misfortunes  to  their  party,  the 
plebeian  leaders  began  to  meet  with  greater  success  in 
their  struggle  for  office.  In  421  b.c.  two  military  quaes- 
tors were  instituted  to  attend  to  the  financial  business  of 
the  army.1  At  the  same  time  it  was  agreed  that  plebeians 
also  should  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  quaestor,  whether 
civil  or  military ;  and  some  years  later  they  actually  suc- 
ceeded in  filling  three  of  the  four  places  with  men  of  their 
own  rank.  In  400  B.C.  they  elected  their  first  consular 
tribunes.  Less  successful  in  their  later  contests  for  this 
office,  however,  the  leaders  of  the  commons  shifted  their 

1  Other  qiuustorships  were  afterward  instituted  to  manage  the 
finances  of  the  provinces;    p.  131. 


Economic  Crisis 


83 


tactics  and  demanded  not  only  that  the  consulship  should 
be  thrown  open  to  them,  but  that  one  of  the  places  should 
be  filled  exclusively  by  plebeians.  In  order  to  gain  their 
object  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  win  the  support  of  the 
poorer  class,  who  had  little  preference  as  to  the  chief 
magistrates,  or  who  even  favored  patricians.  Fortunately  The  economic 
for  the  leaders  of  the  plebs  the  sack  of  Rome  by  the  Gauls 
made  the  common  people  still  poorer ;  the  rebuilding  of  p.  45. 
the  city  and  the  repair  of  farms,  after  the  Gallic  devasta- 


Ax  As 

(A  bronze  coin  of  the  fourth  century  B.C.,  weighing  io.j  oz.     Front,  head  of  Janus  ; 

back,  prow  of  a  galley.) 

tion,  involved  many  in  debt.  The  common  people  fell  into 
great  distress  for  want  of  means  to  live  and  to  pay  what 
they  owed.-  Their  condition  was  made  harder  by  the  great 
economic  crisis  through  which  Rome  was  now  passing. 
Down  to  the  time  of  the  decemvirs,  she  had  no  money 
whatever ;  her  citizens  bartered  their  wares  and  their  farm 
produce  ;  their  standards  of  value  were  sheep,  oxen,  and 
copper.  Apparently  the  decemvirs  introduced  the  idea 
of  coinage  from  Greece  ;  at  least  it  came  in  their  time. 
The  government  began  to  issue  a  copper  coin,  termed  as, 


84  Plebeian  Rights 

which  weighed  a  pound.  Henceforth  values  were  reckoned 
in  coin,  and  creditors  demanded  it  in  payment  of  debts. 
For  a  long  time,  however,  money  was  scarce,  so  that  the 
poor  could  find  none  with  which  to  settle  their  accounts.1 
The  tribunes  of  the  plebs,  ready  to  bargain  with  their 
people,  promised  them  a  law  for  the  relief  of  debtors,  in 
return  for  support  in  their  contest  for  political  honors. 
The  public  The  people  were  discontented,  too,  with  the  way  in  which 
the  government  disposed  of  the  public  land.  "  The  Romans 
as  they  subdued  successively  the  Italian  nations  in  war, 
seized  a  part  of  their  lands  and  built  towns  there,  or  estab- 
lished their  own  colonies  in  those  already  existing,  and 
Appian,  Civil  used  them  as  garrisons.  Of  the  land  acquired  by  war  they 
Wars,  1.7.  assigned  the  cultivated  part  forthwith  to  settlers,  or  leased 
or  sold  it.  Since  they  had  no  leisure  as  yet  to  allot  the 
part  which  then  lay  desolated  by  war,  —  generally  the  greater 
part,  —  they  proclaimed  that  meantime  those  who  were  will- 
ing to  work  it  might  do  so  for  a  share  of  the  yearly  crops, 
—  rendering  to  the  government  a  tenth  of  the  grain  and  a 
fifth  of  the  fruit.  From  those  who  kept  flocks  was  required 
a  share  of  the  animals,  both  oxen  and  small  cattle.  .  .  . 
But  the  rich,  getting  possession  of  the  greater  part  of  the 
undistributed  lands,  and  being  emboldened  by  the  lapse  of 
time  to  believe  that  they  should  never  be  dispossessed,  and 
adding  to  their  holdings  the  small  farms  of  their  poor  neigh- 
bors, partly  by  purchase  and  partly  by  force,  came  to  culti- 
vate vast  tracts  instead  of  single  estates." 
Need  of  an  It  was  proposed  to  limit  the  amount  of  public  land  which 

agrarian  law.  a  man  mjgnt  OCCUpV)  that  the  surplus  might  be  distributed 
among  the  poor.  Though  the  tribunician  families  them- 
selves held  much  of  this  land,  they  were  willing  to  sacrifice 

1  For  the  influence  of  this  economic  crisis  on  the  condition  of  the 
poor,  I  am  indebted  to  the  investigation  of  Mr.  David  Taggart  Clark. 


Licinian-Sextian  Laws 


85 


a  part  of  it  if  for  so  doing  the  poor  would  help  them  gain 
the  consulship  and,  through  it,  the  nobility.     Evidently  they 
were  making  use  of  the  suffering  and  the  discontent  of  the 
people  to  further  their  selfish  ambition ;  for  when  Marcus   385-384  B-c- 
Manlius,  a  noble-hearted  patrician,  a  man  who  stood  high    Livyvi.  nff. 
in  the  esteem  of  all,  tried  by  his  private  means  to  relieve 
the  distress  and  set  before 
the    rich   an    example    of 
personal    kindness  and  of 
"benevolence,   the    tribunes 
prosecuted  him  for  aiming 
to  make  himself  king  and 
had  him  put  to  death  as  a 
traitor.     They  were  deter- 
mined that  none  but  them- 
selves should  aid  the  com- 
mons   and     so    reap    the 
rewards  of  popularity. 

The  bill  which  combined 
political  with  economic  re- 
forms originated  with  the 
tribunes  Licinius  and  Sex- 
tius,  who  are  said  to  have 
urged  it  for  ten  successive 
years.  When  the  patricians 
objected  that  no  plebeian 
had  yet  filled  a  priestly 
office    or    had    taken    the 

auspices,   the  two   tribunes    answered    their    argument    by 
securing   the  "passage  of  a  law  which  raised   the   number 
of  "  Keepers  of  the  Sibylline  Books  "  from  two  to  ten  and   P.  31 
provided  that  five  should  be  plebeians.     As  the   patricians 
could  no  longer  exclude  the  plebeians  from  the  consulship 


Apollo  with  a  Lvke 

(National  Museum,  Naples.) 


The  Licinian- 
Sextian 
Laws,  367 
B.C. 

I. ivy  vi.  34- 
42;  Plutarch, 
Catnillus,  39- 
42. 


86 


Plebeian  Rights 


(A  jugerum 
is  a  little  less 
than  two- 
thirds  of  an 
acre.) 


? 


The  pra?tor 
and  the  cu- 
rule  aediles, 
366  B.C. 


The  new  no- 
bility. 


on  religious  grounds,  they  yielded,  and  the  Licinian-Sextian 
bill  became  a  law,  in  367  B.C.  Its  provisions  were  as 
follows  :  — 

There  shall  be  no  more  consular  tribunes,  and  one  of  the 
two  consuls  shall  henceforth  be  a  plebeian. 

Interest  on  debts  shall  be  deducted  from  the  principal, 
and  the  balance  of  the  debt  shall  be  paid  in  three  equal 
annual  instalments. 

No  one  shall  occupy  more  than  five  hundred  jugera  of 
the  public  land. 

No  one  shall  pasture  more  than  a  hundred  cattle  or  five 
hundred  sheep  on  the  public  land. 

When,  according  to  this  law,  the  tribune  Sextius  was 
chosen  first  plebeian  consul  for  the  following  year,  the 
senate  refused  to  sanction  the  election  till  the  people  had 
consented  to  the  institution  of  three  new  patrician  magis- 
trates :  the  praetor,  who  was  to  be  judge  in  civil  cases  and 
to  have  command  of  the  city  during  the  absence  of  the 
consuls,1  and  two  curule  aediles,  who  were  to  supervise  the 
streets  and  public  buildings,  the  markets,  and  the  public 
games. 

The  effect  of  the  Licinian-Sextian  law  as  to  the  consul- 
ship was  gradually  to  enlarge  the  nobility ;  henceforth  it 
consisted  not  only  of  patricians  but  also  of  all  plebeians  who 
were  admitted  to  a  curule  office  —  themselves  called  "  new 
men  "  —  together  with  their  descendants.  As  a  rule  wealthy 
plebeians  were  chosen ;  and  the  patricians,  who  still  exer- 


1  When,  in  242  B.C.,  a  second  pratorship  was  instituted,  the  distinc- 
tion first  arose  between  the  piurtor  urbanus  and  the  prtetor  peregrinus. 
The  first  had  charge  of  cases  which  concerned  citizens  only,  while  the 
second  attended  to  those  which  affected  an  alien.  Other  prretorships 
were  afterward  added  for  the  government  of  provinces;  p.  130.  The 
office  was  first  occupied  by  a  plebeian  in  337  B.C.  ;  p.  88. 


New  Nobility  87 

cised  great  influence  at  the  elections,  preferred  to  admit  to 
the  nobility  men  who  shared  their  political  views  and  who 
were  closely  connected  with  them  in  friendship  or  by  mar- 
riage. Thus  the  nobility  had  found  a  means  of  recruiting 
itself  with  fresh  blood  without  disturbing  its  own  unity.     To 


/Esculapius 

(National  Museum,  Naples.) 

commemorate  the  harmony,  of  the  new  arrangement,  the 
aged  Camillus  founded  a  temple  to  Concordia  at  the  end 
of  the  Forum  beneath  the  Capitoline  Hill. 

Understanding  that  the  fewer  they  were  the  more  honor   Aims  of  the 
would  be  theirs  to  enjoy,  the  nobles  strenuously  opposed  the   new  no  ' '  y' 
admission  of  new  members.     They  preferred  to  have  one 


88 


Plebeian  Rights 


The  law  of 
the  tribune 
Genucius, 
342  B.C. 
Livy  vii.  42. 


The  assem- 
blies. 

Law  of  Pub- 

lilius  Philo, 
339  B.C. 
P.  56. 
Livy  viii.  12. 

Law  of  Hor- 
tensius, 
287  B.C. 
Livy 
(epitome)  xi. 


of  their  number  hold  the  consulship  four  or  five  times,  and 
other  high  offices  in  addition,  rather  than  to  receive  new  men 
into  their  privileged  society.  But  when  a  law  was  passed 
that  no.  one  should  hold  the  same  office  within  a  period  of 
ten  years,  or  more  than  one  office  at  a  time,  a  greater  num- 
ber of  new  men  was  necessarily  elected,  and,  in  consequence, 
the  nobility  became  more  representative  of  the  people  as  a 
whole.  Before  the  fourth  century  b.c.  closed,  plebeians  had 
gained  admission  to  all  the  curule  offices  and  finally  to  the 
colleges  of  augurs  and  pontiffs. 

While  the  leaders  of  the  plebs  were  winning  political 
rights,  the  masses  in  their  assemblies  were  striving  for  legal 
freedom  from  the  control  of  the  senate.  A  law  of  Publilius 
Philo,  the  famous  plebeian  general  of  whom  we  have  heard, 
compelled  the  senators,  before  the  voting  began,  to  give 
their  sanction  —  auctoritas  —  to  the  bills  brought  before 
the  comitia  centuriata ;  and  the  Hortensian  law  of  287  B.C. 
probably  made  unnecessary  the  consent  of  the  senate  to 
measures  brought  by  the  tribunes  before  the  assembly  of 
tribes.1     Though  one  would    naturally  suppose    that    these 

1  Three  laws  passed  at  different  times  make  the  resolutions  of  the 
tribal  assembly,  or  assemblies,  binding  on  the  people. 

I.  The  Valerian-Horatian  law  of  449  B.C. :  "  Whatever  the  plebs  order 
in  the  tribal  assembly  shall  be  binding  on  all  the  people.''''     Livy  iii.  55. 

Though  it  seems  probable  that  the  tribal  assembly  of  this  period 
included  both  ranks,  the  majority  of  members,  the  organization,  and 
the  presidency  were  plebeian  ;  hence,  apparently,  it  was  called  an  as- 
sembly of  the  plebs. 

II.  The  law  of  Publilius  Philo,  339  B.C.:  "  The  orders  of  the  plebs 
shall  be  binding  on  all  the  Romans."  '   Livy  viii.  12. 

It  seems  probable  that  in  the  period  between  449  and  339  B.C.  the 
patricians  ceased  attending  the  tribal  assembly  when  it  was  called  by 
a  tribune,  and  that  the  law  here  quoted  made  the  acts  of  the  exclu- 
sively plebeian  assembly  thus  formed  binding  on  all  the  Romans.  This 
plebeian  assembly  is  sometimes  called  a  comitia  tributa,  sometimes 
merely  a  "council."     The  distinction  between  the  tribal  assembly  of 


City  Plebs  89 

acts  opened  the  way  to  hasty  legislation,  such  was  not  the 
case.  The  tribunes  were  now  usually  nobles  and  had  seats 
in  the  senate,  which  employed  them  accordingly  as  minis- 
ters for  checking  other  officers  and  for  bringing  measures 
before  the  people.  The  tribal  assembly,  less  cumbersome 
than  that  of  the  centuries,  was  far  more  convenient  for  leg- 
islation ;  and  in  case  a  magistrate  dared  offer  a  resolution 
which  the  senate  disapproved,  it  was  generally  easy  to  find 
a  tribune  to  intercede  against  him  and  thus  to  prevent  the 
measure  from  being  put  to  vote.  Rarely,  therefore,  did  any 
one  attempt  to  pass  a  law  without  the  approval  of  the  sen- 
ate. It  speaks  well  for  the  ability  of  the  senate  that,  while 
yielding  legal  claims  to  power,  by  moral  force  it  acquired 
still  greater  authority,  and  that  under  its  selfish  though  wise 
management,  the  democratic  movement  which  began  with 
the  origin  of  the  plebeian  tribunate  resulted  in  the  more 
thorough  establishment  of  aristocratic  government. 

It  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  that  those  plebeians  who,   The  city 
since  the  beginning  of  the  republic,  were  winning  the  right  plebs' 
to  place  men  of  their  own  rank  in  office  and  to  make  laws   pP.  34,  75. 
in  their  own  assembly  were  all  landowners,  who  alone  be- 
longed originally  to  the  tribes.     Excluded  from  the  tribes, 
and  consequently  from  the  comitia  tributa,  were  the  vari- 


all  the  people  and  the  council  of  the  plebeians,  —  a  distinction  on 
which  Mommsen  lays  great  emphasis,  —  never  was  of  practical  im- 
portance. 

III.  The  Hortensian  law,  287  B.C. :  "  The  orders  of  the  plebs  shall 
l>e  binding  on  all  the  Romans."  Pliny,  Xat.  Hist.  xvi.  37  ;  Gellius 
xv.  27.  4  ;    cf.  Gaius  i.  2.  4. 

Probably  this  law,  in  its  original  form,  made  unnecessary  the  consent 
of  the  senate  to  the  resolution  of  the  plebeian  assembly  of  tribes. 

Among  the  possible  explanations  of  these  laws,  the  one  here  offered 
seems  to  be  most  consistent  with  the  known  facts;  cf.  Botsford,  Com- 
position of  the  Roman  Assemblies. 


go 


Plebeian  Rights 


Appius  Clau- 
dius Csecus, 
312  B.C. 


Diodorus  xx. 
36 ;  Livy  ix. 

29.   3°.   33  f. 
46. 

P.  57- 


The  country 
plebsbecome 
an  aristoc- 
racy. 


Economic  de- 
velopment, 
509-264  B.C. 
450,  268  B.C. 

P.  83. 


ous  classes  of  landless  people  :  laborers  for  hire,  tenants, 
artisans,  and  tradesmen.  But  in  312  B.C.  Appius  Claudius 
Cascus  as  censor  enrolled  these  inferior  citizens  in  the  vari- 
ous tribes  for  the  double  purpose  of  giving  them  full  politi- 
cal rights  and  of  compelling  them  to  serve  in  the  army  ;  for 
the  Second  Samnite  War  was  then  at  its  crisis.  It  was  at 
this  time  that  he  began  the  great  military  road  from  Rome 
to  Capua  and  a  splendid  aqueduct,  which  supplied  his  city 
with  abundance  of  fresh  water.  These  magnificent  works, 
as  well  as  his  political  reforms,  greatly  benefited  the  indus- 
trial and  commercial  classes.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  how- 
ever, as  the  government  no  longer  needed  the  military  aid 
of  the  landless,  the  censor  Fabius  put  them  into  the  four 
city  tribes,  which  he  degraded  by  ordering  them  to  vote 
last.  Thus  the  possessors  of  land  remained  superior  to 
them  in  honor  and  in  privileges.  In  contrast  with  this  lower 
class  of  citizens,  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  municipia,  with 
the  Latins,  and  with  the  Italian  allies,  the  members  of  the 
country  tribes  were  themselves  practically  aristocrats  inferior 
only  to  the  knights  and  the  senatorial  nobility. 

While  the  Romans  were  becoming  masters  of  Italy  and 
improving  their  laws  and  their  constitution,  they  were  also 

growing  richer.  About  the 
time  of  the  decemvirs  they 
began  to  coin  bronze  and 
long  afterward  silver.  The 
nobles  reaped  the  profits  of 
large  tracts  of  the  conquered 
land  and  acquired  a  great 
number  of  slaves.  After  the 
state  and  the  richer  citizens  alike  had  long  accustomed 
themselves  to  the  miserly  habit  of  hoarding  their  wealth, 
Appius  Claudius  Caecus,  the  censor,  set  a  generous  example 


A  Denarius 

(A  silver  coin  struck  soon  after  268  B.C. 
Front,  head  of  Roma;  back,  Castor  and 
Pollux  on  horseback.) 


Culture 


91 


of  expending  money  on  useful  public  works.  Following 
him,  the  Romans  improved  the  appearance  of  their  city, 
especially  by  building  many  temples  in  the  Greek  style. 

But  in  their  pursuit  of  wealth  and  power  they  had  as  yet   Lack  of  cui- 
little  thought  of  cultivating  their  minds  ;  they  possessed  no   ture' 
literature,  and  with  the  exception  of  their  temples,  no  art ; 


Venus 

(National  Museum,  Naples. 


a  few  of  them  learned  the  Greek  language,  though  for 
merely  practical  objects.  Their  slight  advancement  in  cul- 
ture during  this  period  came  chiefly  through  contact  with 
the  Greeks  of  southern  Italy  and  of  Sicily,  from  whom  they 
borrowed  manners  and  customs.  Adopting  some  deities 
from    old  Hellas,  they  built  a  temple  to  the    prophet-god 


92 


Plebeian  Rights 


p.  28. 


The  Romans 
under  state 
discipline. 
Horace, 
Odes,  iii.  6; 
cf.  i.  12. 


275  B.C. 


Frugality. 


P.  60. 


Valerius 
Maximus, 
IV.  iv.  6.  11. 


Apollo,  to  Aphrodite,  goddess  of  love  and  beauty,  whom 
they  identified  with  their  garden-goddess  Venus,  and  still 
later  to  yEsculapius,  god  of  healing.  This  Greek  influ- 
ence tended  slightly  to  refine  and  to  humanize  the  Romans, 
who  were  still  a  pious  people  with  faith  in  their  gods  and 
in  the  ceremonies  of  their  worship. 

Though  poor  and  ignorant,  the  earliest  Romans  were  dis- 
tinguished for  patience  and  energy.  "  The  sons  of  rustic 
warriors  they,  a  manly  breed,  trained  to  turn  the  soil  with 
Sabine  hoe,  and  to  cut  and  carry  wood  at  a  stern  mother's 
bidding."  Their  virtue,  the  fruit  of  a  simple  life,  increased 
in  strength  and  in  severity  throughout  the  period.  This 
growth  was  owing  to  the  watch-care  which  the  republican 
government  exercised  over  the  citizens.  The  magistrates 
had  power  to  punish  not  only  for  crimes  but  for  every  of- 
fence against  order,  however  slight,  and  even  for  immorality, 
including  lazy  or  luxurious  habits.  While  all  officers  en- 
joyed this  authority,  it  was  the  especial  duty  of  the  censors 
to  see  that  every  citizen  subjected  himself  to  the  severe  dis- 
cipline prescribed  by  the  state.  They  could  punish  a  man 
for  negligence  in  cultivating  his  field  or  for  spending  too 
much  on  the  funeral  of  a  kinsman ;  they  expelled  from  the 
senate  Publius  Cornelius  Rufinus,  a  man  of  high  rank,  for 
having  in  his  house  ten  pounds  of  silver  plate,  whereas  the 
law  permitted  him  only  eight  ounces. 

Some  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  age  were  content 
with  the  frugal  life  of  the  peasant.  One  of  them,  Manius 
Curius  Dentatus,  who  prepared  his  own  food  in  wooden 
dishes,  insisted  that  seven  jugera  of  land  were  enough  for 
any  citizen.  "At  that  time  there  was  little  money ;  there 
were  few  slaves,  seven  jugera  of  land,  poverty  in  families, 
funerals  paid  for  by  the  state,  and  daughters  without  dowry ; 
but     illustrious    consulates,    wonderful    dictatorships,    and 


Education  93 

countless    triumphs,  —  such    is    the    picture    of    these    old 
times  !  " 

The  aim  of  education  in  the  family  and  in  public  life  was  The  results  of 
to  repress  the  freedom  of  the  individual  in  the  interest  of  tion 
the  state,  to  make  a  nation  of  brave  warriors  and  of  dutiful 
citizens.  The  highest  results  of  this  stern  training  were 
reached  in  the  Samnite  Wars,  —  a  period  known  thereafter 
as  the  golden  age  of  virtue  and  of  heroism.  A  citizen  of 
this  time  was,  in  the  highest  degree,  obedient  to  authority, 
pious,  frugal,  and  generally  honest.  But  though  he  was 
willing  to  sacrifice  his  life  for  the  good  of  the  state,  he  was 
equally  ready  to  enrich  himself  at  the  expense  of  his  neigh- 
bors ;  the  wealthy  did  not  hesitate  to  sell  the  poor  into 
slavery  for  debt,  till  they  were  forbidden  to  do  so  by  law. 
Their  hard,  stern  souls  knew  neither  generosity  nor  mercy. 
Severe  toward  the  members  of  their  family,  cruel  in  the 
treatment  of  slaves,  and  in  their  business  transactions 
shrewd  and  grasping,  the  Romans  of  the  time,  however 
admirable  for  their  heroic  virtues,  were  narrow,  harsh,  and 
unlovable.  Greed  was  one  of  their  strongest  motives  to 
conquest.  Not  for  glory,  —  much  less  for  the  good  of 
their  neighbors, — did  they  extend  their  power  over  Italy; 
it  was  rather  that  more  of  the  peasants  might  be  supplied 
with  farms  and  that  the  nobles  might  be  given  larger  tracts 
of  the  public  land  and  a  greater  number  of  places  of  honor 
and  of  profit  to  use  and  to  enjoy. 

As  long  as  they  remained  poor  and  under  strict  disci-   can  they  en- 
pline,  they  were  moral.     In  the  following  period  they  were   ^ure  ui 
to  gain  greater  freedom  from  the  control  of  their  magistrates   of  wealth  and 

power  ^ 

and,  at  the  same  time,  power  and  wealth.    These  new  con-   ' 
ditions  were  to  put  their  virtue  and  even  their  government  to 
the  severest  test. 


94  Plebeian  Rights 

Sources 

Reading.  The  same  as  for  the  preceding  chapter   (p.   65)   and   in   addition, 

Cicero,  Republic,  ii.  31  ff;  Diodorus  xx.  36  (for  Appius  Claudius 
Qecus) ;  extracts  from  the  Laws  of  the  Twelve  Tables.  Howe,  Studies 
in  the  Civil  Law,  App.  A  ;    cf.  Botsford,  Story  of  Rome,  ch.  iv. 

Modern  Works 

Pelham,  Outlines  of  Roman  History,  bk.  II.  ch.  i  ;  Taylor,  Consti- 
tutional and  Political  History  of  Rome,  chs.  ii-v  ;  How  and  Leigh, 
History  of  Rome,  chs.  v,  vi,  viii,  ix,  xii  ;  Shuckburgh,  History  of  Rome, 
chs.  viii,  xiii,  xvi  ;  Fowler,  City-State,  chs.  iv,  vii  ;  Ihne,  Early  Rome, 
chs.  x-xiv,  xviii,  xix  (to  390  B.C.);  History  of  Rome,  bk.  II.  chs.  i,  ii, 
vii-xiii,  xvii,  xix  ;  bk.  III.  chs.  ii,  iii,  vii,  xi,  xviii  ;  Mommsen,  History 
of  Rome,  bk.  II.  chs.  i-iii,  viii,  ix  ;  Duruy,  History  of  Rome,  I.  chs.  vi, 
viii,  ix,  xii,  xiii,  xviii  ;  Nitzsch,  Romische  Republik,  i.  pp.  45-I3° 
(suggestive)  ;  Botsford,  Composition  of  the  Roman  Assemblies  ;  Muir- 
head,  Roman  Law,  pts.  i,  ii  ;  Morey,  Outlines  of  Roman  Law,  periods 
i,  ii. 


Longitude 


ROMAN  POWER 

To  the  time  of  the  Gracchi. 

SCALE  OF  MILES 
Hi    .Vi      ii  100  200  300  400 

Pot  Cb  iptert  v,  VI. 
For  It  u.  sec  Page.  • 


Roman  Tower  in  264.  B.  C. 
Acquired  241-218  B.  C. 
Acquired  201-133  B.  C. 
Allies  of  Rome  in  133  B.  C. 
Carthaginian  Posessions  264  B.  C. 


in 


■ 


G.  IP.  Batafont,  ZW.     40* 


=  ';:;;;; 

■ 

^mmm^ 

~ia~*~<£~^A 

Messana 
(Modern  Messina.) 


CHAPTER   V 

THE   EXPANSION   OF  THE   ROMAN   POWER    (264-133   B.C.) 
Second  Period  of  the  Republic  —  External  History 

"  Now,  now  our  ears  you  pierce 
With  clarions  shrill,  and  trumpet's  threatenings  fierce, 

Now  flashing  arms  affright 
Horses  and  riders  scattering  both  in  flight; 

Now  do  I  seem  to  hear 
The  shoutings  of  the  mighty  leaders  near. 

And  see  them  strike  and  thrust 
Begrimed  with  not  unhonorable  dust." 

—  Horace,  Odes,  ii.  1 . 

The  Phoenicians,  who  were  famous  for  their   navigation   The  Phoeni- 
and  commerce,  once  occupied  a  narrow  strip  of  land  along 
the  east  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.     With  the  instinct 
for  trade  natural  to  their  race,  they  began  early  to  explore   Botsford, 
the    shores   and    the    islands    of  the    Mediterranean;    and         ece>P-3- 
wherever  convenient,  they  planted   colonies  as  centres  of 
traffic  with   the  natives.     One    of  the   settlements,  named   Carthage. 
Carthage,  on  the  African  coast  opposite  Sicily,  had    a  re- 
markably favorable  situation  ;   for  the  country  near  it  was 
exceedingly    fertile,    and    it    was    conveniently  located    for 

95 


96 


Expansion  of  the  Roman  Poiver 


Botsford, 
Greece, 
P-  l37- 


Rome  and 
Carthage, 
509-264  B.C. 

P.  Si- 

348  B.C. 


306  B.C. 


Polybius  iii. 

25- 

P.  61  f. 

279  B.C. 


trade  with  the  East  and  the  West,  and  with  Sicily  and  Italy. 
These  advantages  made  Carthage  wealthy  and  populous. 
Though  the  people  of  this  city  loved  peace  and  preferred 
to  devote  their  energies  to  trade,  they  were  compelled  to 
fight  in  order  to  maintain  themselves  against  the  warlike 
Greeks ;  unwillingly,  therefore,  they  became  a  military  and 
an  imperial  power.  Gathering  under  their  rule  and  pro- 
tection the  various  Phoenician  colonies  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean, —  along  the  northern  and  northwestern  coasts  of  Africa, 
in  western  Sicily,  in  Sardinia,  and  even  in  Spain,  —  they 
created  a  great  navy  and  a  large  army  of  mercenaries,  with 
which  they  attempted,  though  in  vain,  to  drive  the  Greeks 
from  Sicily.  While  fighting  against  the  Greeks  they  made  a 
treaty  with  Rome,  in  509  B.C. 

About  a  century  and  a  half  later,  the  city  on  the  Tiber, 
while  contending  against  the  invading  Gauls  and  against 
unfaithful  allies,  renewed  her  treaty  with  Carthage,  though 
she  was  then  too  weak  to  forbid  her  more  prosperous  neigh- 
bor from  plundering  Latium  and  central  Italy.  However, 
when  near  the  close  of  the  Second  Samnite  War  Rome 
showed  herself  the  strongest  power  in  Italy,  it  seems  prob- 
able that  a  third  treaty  was  made  between  the  two  states, 
according  to  which  Carthage  was  to  keep  away  from  Italy 
and  Rome  from  Sicily.  Evidently  each  state  now  regarded 
the  other  as  a  dangerous  rival ;  hence  this  jealous  effort  to 
prevent  a  collision.  As  the  invasion  of  Italy  and  of  Sicily 
by  Pyrrhus  menaced  both  powers  alike,  they  made  a  defen- 
sive alliance  against  him ;  but  fear  and  jealousy  prevented 
them  from  calling  upon  each  other  for  help.  When  the 
great  Epirot  commander  withdrew  from  Sicily,  he  is  said 
to  have  exclaimed  regretfully,  "  What  a  fair  battle-field  we 
are  leaving  to  the  Romans  and  the  Carthaginians  !  "  —  thus 
intimating  that  the  Greeks  of  Sicily  had  ceased  to  be  mas- 


Cartilage  97 

ters  of  their  fate,  and  that  Rome  and  Carthage  would  soon 
contend  for  the  possession  of  this  fertile  island.  The 
Phoenician  city  had   been  checked  by  the  great  rulers  of   405-367  B-c 

OAC  —  OQ'7     017— 

Syracuse,  as   Dionysius   I,  Timoleon,  and   Agathocles,  but   2g   Bc'     ' 

she  was  now  gaining  ground  in  Sicily ;  her  conquest  of  the   Botsford, 

whole  island  was  merely  a  question  of  time.     From  Syra-      ree"'  pp; 

J  241  ft,  247  f. 

cuse  and  JNIessana,  when  taken,  she  would  naturally  pass 
over  to  Italy ;  indeed  she  had  already  threatened  Rhe- 
gium  and  Tarentum.  Rome,  the  protector  of  Italy,  was 
nervously  watching  her  rival's  movements. 

An  Asiatic  race,  the  Carthaginians  had  not  the  capacity   Character  of 
of  the  Romans  for  self-government  or  the  ability  to  govern   ginians 
others.    Their  political  life  was  already  corrupt ;  they  ground 
their  subject  communities  with  oppressive  taxes  and  gave   Poiybius 
them  no  hope  of  ever  obtaining  equality  of  rights.     It  was  a   '•  72- 
government  by  capitalists  and  for  capitalists  maintained  by 
bribery  and  force.     Their  religion,  too,  was  inhuman  and 
grossly  immoral.     Such  being  the  case,  it  would  have  been 
unfortunate  for  any  large  part  of  Europe  to  fall  permanently 
under  their  rule.     By  checking  them  in  this  direction,  Rome 
was  to  do  a  good  service  to  civilization. 

Let  us  compare  their  resources.      Though  the  govern-   Resources  of 

r  1       1  •  -i  r  r>  r  11      Rome  and 

ments  of  both  were  aristocratic,  that  of  Rome  was  in  its  lull-   Carthage 
est  vigor,  while  that  of  Carthage  was  beginning  to  decay,   compared. 
With  her   magnificent   navy  Carthage  controlled   the   sea.   Poiybius  vi. 
Her  wealth  enabled  her  to  enlist  gigantic  armies  of  merce-   5I  " 
naries,  who,  however  brave  in  battle,  often  proved  treacher-    Poiybius  i. 
ous ;  for  they  were  attached  to  the  city  they  served  by  no  43,  7" 
tie  of  blood  or  patriotism.     On  the  other  hand  Rome  had 
but  a  few  small  ships  at  her  command.     Her  soldiers,  how- 
ever,   though   mere    militia,   were    the    hardiest   and   most 
stubborn  fighters  in  the  world,  and  still  better,  they  were   P-  50. 
devoted  to  their  country.     In  contrast  with  the  oppressive 

H 


98 


Expansion  of  tJic  Roman  Power 


Pp.  63  f,  129, 
133- 


Immediate 
cause  of  the 
war. 

Polvbius  i. 
7  ff- 


Pp.  76,  90. 


The  First 
Punic  War, 
264-241  B.C. 


tyranny  which  Carthage  exercised  over  her  empire,  Italy 
was  a  strongly  centralized  federation,  resting  on  the  basis 
of  common  blood,  —  a  system  in  which  each  community 
administered  its  own  affairs,  but  all  acknowledged  Rome 
absolute  mistress  of  their  military  resources.  Carthage  was 
more  formidable,  but  it  was  a  question  whether  Rome 
could  not  endure  the  greater  shock  and  the  longer  strain 
of  war. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  first  war  between  these  two 
states  was  as  follows.  Some  Campanian  mercenaries,  re- 
leased from  the  service  of  Syracuse,  planned  to  seize  by 
treachery  the  fair  and  wealthy  Messana.  Admitted  as 
guests  into  the  city,  they  killed  or  drove  away  the  men,  and 
divided  the  women,  children,  and  property  among  them- 
selves. For  a  time  the  Mamertines  —  "  sons  of  Mars  "  —  as 
these  robbers  called  themselves,  enjoyed  their  ill-got  homes  ; 
but  threatened  by  both  Greeks  and  Carthaginians,  they  ap- 
pealed to  Rome  for  aid  on  the  ground  of  kindred  blood. 
Although  the  senate  felt  it  would  be  unjust  to  aid  the  Mam- 
ertines, it  feared  that  if  the  Carthaginians  should  conquer 
them  and  gain  control  of  all  Sicily,  they  would  not  hesitate 
to  lay  hands  on  Italy.  A  less  worthy  motive  to  war  was  the 
desire  of  the  senators  to  extend  their  power  and  with  it  their 
field  for  trade  and  speculation  ;  for  the  commercial  spirit  of 
the  Claudian  family  had  already  seized  nearly  the  whole  aris- 
tocracy. When,  therefore,  the  senate  referred  the  question 
to  the  people,  Appius  Claudius  Caudex,  one  of  the  consuls, 
by  promising  them  lands  in  Sicily,  persuaded  them  to  vote 
aid  to  the  Mamertines.  Appointed  commander,  he  skilfully 
brought  his  army  into  Messana,  though  the  Syracusans  and 
the  Carthaginians  were  besieging  it  by  land  and  sea. 

The  Romans  soon  drove  the  besiegers  away,  and  induced 
lliero,   king  of  Syracuse,  to    make  a  treaty  according   to 


First  Punic  War  99 

which  he  was  to  supply  the  Roman  armies  in  Sicily  with 
provisions.     The    cities  of  the   interior  readily  yielded,  as   Polybius  i. 
they  found  greater  security  under  Rome  than  either  Syracuse   II_  4" 
or  Carthage  had  given  them.     And  when  the  Romans  had 
taken  Agrigentum  from  the  Carthaginians,    they   began   to   262  b.c. 
entertain  hopes  of  expelling  their   enemy  altogether  from 
the  island.     For  this  purpose  it  was    necessary  to  build  a 
fleet,  as  Carthage  with  her  navy  not  only  protected  the  mari- 
time towns  of  Sicily  but  even  ravaged  the  Italian    coasts. 
Though  the  naval  allies  could  furnish  a  few  triremes,  no  one 
in  Italy  had  yet  attempted  quinqueremes  —  vessels  with  five 
banks    of  oars — such    as    made    up    the    strength    of    the 
enemy's   navy.      But  using   a   stranded   Carthaginian    quin-    Polybius  i. 
quereme  as  a  model,  the   Romans,  with  their  usual  courage   2°  ff- 
and  energy,  began  to  build  a  fleet.     While  some  were  busy 
with  this  work,  others  trained  the  crews  by  having  them  sit 
on  benches  along  the  shore  and  practise  rowing  in  the  sand. 
When  they  had  completed  their  fleet,  they  put  to  sea  and 
engaged  the  enemy  off  Mylae,   260  b.c.     Their  ships  were   Battle  of 
clumsy  and  they  lacked  skill  in  manoeuvring;   but  they  con-     ,y    ' 
trived  to  board  the  enemy's  vessels  by  means  of  a  draw- 
bridge which  each  Roman  ship  carried  at  her  prow.     This 
machine    they  called    a    crow,  from    the    iron    spike  in  its 
extremity  which    grappled    the    enemy's  deck.     The  naval 
tactics  of  the   Carthaginians  were  of  no   avail ;    for  as  the 
hostile  fleets  neared  one  another,  the  drawbridges  fell,  the 
Romans  boarded,  and  overcame  their  foes  with  sword  and 
spear,  as    in  a    land  fight.     The   great  victory  which    they 
gained  increased  their  fervor  for  war.     On    the   return  of 
Gaius  Duilius,  the  commander,  Rome  gave  him  an  enthusi-   Livy  (epit- 
astic  welcome  as   her  first  naval  hero,  and  provided   that   ome^  xvu- 
musicians  and  torch-bearers  should  accompany  him  in  the 
evening  as  he  returned  home  from  the  senate. 


IOO 


Expansion  of  the  Roman  Power 


The  Romans 
invade  Libya. 

Polybius  i. 
26  ff. 


256  B.C. 


Regulus. 


Cf.  p.  61. 


250  B.C. 


Mission  of 
Regulus, 
250  B.C. 


Livy  (epit- 
ome) xviii. 


Horace, 
Odes,  iii.  5. 


The  Romans  then  conceived  the  idea  of  building  an 
enormous  fleet,  with  which  they  hoped  to  carry  the  war  into 
Libya  and  make  Carthage  fear  for  her  own  safety.  This 
great  armament,  consisting  of  three  hundred  and  thirty 
vessels  carrying  nearly  a  hundred  and  forty  thousand  men, 
defeated  a  still  larger  fleet  of  the  enemy  off  Ecnomus,  and 
afterward  conveyed  an  army  to  Africa.  There,  under  the 
consul  Regulus,  they  gained  victories  and  captured  towns, 
till  Xanthippus,  a  Lacedaemonian,  taught  the  Carthaginians 
to  offer  battle  in  the  plain,  where  they  could  use  their  ele- 
phants and  their  great  force  of  cavalry  to  advantage.  The 
result  was  the  destruction  of  the  Roman  army  and  the 
capture  of  Regulus.  The  elephants  wrought  such  havoc 
that  the  Romans  dared  not  face  them  again  for  several 
years.  Meantime  their  ignorance  of  navigation  lost  them 
two  large  fleets  and  thousands  of  lives.  Disheartened  for  a 
time,  they  were  encouraged  by  a  great  victory  at  Panormus, 
in  which  Caecilius  Metellus  captured  thirteen  officers  and  a 
hundred  and  twenty  elephants.  These  huge  beasts  he  ex- 
hibited in  his  triumph  to  the  delight  of  the  curious  Romans. 

The  battle  cost  the  enemy  nearly  all  Sicily.  Of  the 
larger  cities  they  held  only  Lilybaeum,  now  besieged  by  the 
Romans,  and  Drepana,  where  Adherbal,  their  high  admiral, 
was  stationed.  Under  these  circumstances  the  authorities 
at  Carthage  sent  Regulus,  who  was  still  a  prisoner,  to  Rome, 
to  negotiate  a  peace,  promising  him  liberty  if  he  should 
succeed.  He,  however,  urged  the  senate  to  persevere  in 
the  war;  then  — 

"  From  his  chaste  wife's  embrace,  they  say, 
And  babes  he  tore  himself  away, 
As  he  had  forfeited  the  right 
To  clasp  them  as  a  freeman  might; 
Then  sternly  on  the  ground  he  bent 
His  manly  brow;    and  so  he  lent 


u 
a 
W 

H 
2 

D 

O 


Drepana, 
249  B.C. 


Hamilcar  101 

Decision  to  the  senate's  voice, 

That  paused  and  wavered  in  its  choice, 

And  forth  the  noble  exile  strode, 

Whilst  friends  in  anguish  lined  the  road." 

Returning  to  Carthage  in  accordance  with  his  oath,  he  is 
said  to  have  suffered  death  by  torture  ;  but  in  fact  no  one 
knows  how  he  died. 

Next  year  the  consul  Publius  Claudius  sailed  from  Lily-   Defeat  at 
baeum  to  Drepana  to  surprise  Adherbal.     But  the  admiral, 
far  from  being  caught  napping,  met  the  enemy  and  inflicted 
upon  him  an  overwhelming  defeat.     The  Romans  tried  to   Poiybius  i. 
account  for  this  disaster  by  a  story  that  when  Claudius  was  j9-^2'     "^ 

J  J  (epitome) 

planning  the  attack,  he  received  word  that  the  sacred  xix. 
chickens  would  not  eat,  —  an  omen  which  signified  that  the 
gods  forbade  the  enterprise.  Haughtily  exclaiming  that  if 
the  fowls  would  not  eat,  at  least  they  would  have  to  drink, 
he  threw  them  into  the  sea.  His  impiety  together  with  his 
lack  of  skill  is  given  as  the  cause  of  this  great  misfortune. 

While  the  Romans  were  besieging  Lilybseum,  Carthage   Hamilcar 
sent  out  a  general  who  was  to  prove,  in  himself  and  in  his   ;         '  247 
sons,  the  most  dangerous  enemy  Rome  ever  met.     This  was 
Hamilcar,  surnamed  Barca,  —  the  "  Lightning,"  —  a  man  of 
extraordinary  genius  for  war.     He  occupied  -  Mount  Ercte,    Poiybius  i. 
above  Panormus,  which  was  then  held  by  a  Roman  army.   5 
Viewed  from  the  city,  this  mountain  seems  a  gigantic  rock, 
barren  and  steep,  whose  summit  can  be  reached  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  by  means  of  an  abrupt  gorge.     Higher  up, 
however,  the  traveller  finds  broad,  grassy  basins,  in  one  of 
which  is  a  spring  of  fresh  water.     Here  Hamilcar  fed  cat- 
tle and  raised  corn  to  support  the  handful  of  troops,  who 
performed  wonders  under  the  spell  of  his  genius.     From 
the  little  harbor  beneath  him  his   light  ships  harassed  the 
Italian  coasts,  while  from  the  eagle's  perch  above  he  used  to 


102 


Expansion  of  the  Roman  Power 


Exhaustion 
of  the  two 
nations. 


Polybiusi.58. 


The  last 
battle. 


Polvbiusi.59. 


/Egatian  is- 
lands, 241 
B.C. 

The  terms  of 
peace,  241 
B.C 


swoop  down,  rapid  as  the  lightning,  upon  the  Romans  in 
the  neighborhood,  and  as  easily  retire  to  the  nest  which  no 
enemy  dared  explore. 

After  maintaining  himself  for  three  years  in  this  position, 
he  suddenly  abandoned  it  for  a  post  on  the  side  of  Mount 
Eryx.  Though  his  new  place  was  more  difficult  to  hold,  it 
afforded  him  an  opportunity  to  cooperate  with  his  friends  in 
the  neighboring  city  of  Drepana.  But  with  his  small  force  he 
could  accomplish  little  ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  the  Romans 
failed  to  dislodge  him.  ■ "  The  two  nations  engaged  were  like 
two  well-bred  game-cocks  which  fight  to  their  last  gasp. 
You  may  see  them  often,  when  too  weak  to  use  their  wings, 
yet  full  of  pluck  to  the  end,  and  striking  again  and  again. 
Finally  chance  brings  them  the  opportunity  of  once  more 
grappling,  and  they  hold  on  till  one  or  the  other  of  them 
drops  dead." 

Neither  nation  had  any  longer  the  means  of  supporting  a 
fleet  or  a  strong  army  in  service.  Rome  had  so  debased 
her  currency  that  it  was  nearly  worthless;  her  treasury  was 
empty ;  and  she  was  on  the  verge  of  bankruptcy.  While 
Hamilcar  stood  in  the  way  of  her  gaining  control  of  Sicily 
by  means  of  her  land  force,  want  of  war  ships  made  her 
powerless  on  the  sea.  Under  these  circumstances  "  the 
wealthier  citizens  undertook  singly  or  in  companies  of  two 
or  three  to  supply  a  quinquereme  on  the  understanding  that 
they  should  be  repaid,  if  the  expedition  proved  a  success." 
With  two  hundred  vessels  thus  built,  the  consul  Gaius 
Lutatius  Catulus,  at  the  /Egatian  islands,  intercepted  a  new 
Carthaginian  fleet  bringing  supplies  to  Sicily,  and  totally 
defeated  it. 

As  the  Carthaginians  had  no  longer  any  means  of  carrying 
on  the  war,  they  gave  Hamilcar  full  power  to  make  peace, 
provided  he  thought  best  to  do  so.     "  Nor  was  their  confi- 


Terms  of  Peace  103 

dence  misplaced.    He  acted  the  part  of  a  gallant  general  and 

a  sensible  man.     As  long  as  there  was  any  reasonable  hope 

of  success  in  the  business  he  had  in  hand,  nothing  was  too 

dangerous  for   him   to  attempt;  and    if  any    general  ever   Poiybius i.62. 

did  so,  he  put  every  chance  of  victory  to  the  fullest  proof. 

But  when  all  his  endeavors  miscarried,  and  no  reasonable 

expectation  was  left  of  saving  his  troops,  he  yielded  to  the 

inevitable,  and  sent  ambassadors  to  treat  of  peace  and  terms 

of  accommodation.     And   in    this    he    showed    great  good 

sense  and  practical  ability ;  for  it  is  quite  as  much  the  duty 

of  a  leader  to  be  able  to  see  when  it  is  time  to  give  in,  as 

when  it  is  time  to  win  a  victory.      Lutatius  was  ready  enough 

to  listen  to   the  proposal,  because  he  was  fully  aware  that 

the  resources  of  Rome  were   at  their  lowest  ebb  from  the 

strain  of  the  war  ;  and  eventually  it  was  his  fortune  to  end 

the  contest  by  a  treaty,"  the  terms  of  which,  in  their  final 

form,  were  as  follows.     There  shall  be  friendship  between 

Carthage   and  Rome,  provided  the  Carthaginians  evacuate 

Sicily,  pay  the  Romans  thirty-two  hundred  talents  of  silver 

—  over    three     and    a    half    millions    of    dollars — within 

ten     years,    and    give    up     all    prisoners    without    ransom. 

Thus  after  continuing  twenty-three    years,  the   First  Punic 

War  came  to  an  end  in   241    B.C.     Some  years  later  Sicily   p.  130. 

became   a   Roman  province,  —  that    is,    a    subject    country 

ruled  by  a  Roman  magistrate. 

After  the  war,  as  Carthage  had  no  means  of  paying  her  The  Merce- 
mercenaries,  they  mutinied  and  were  joined  by  the  Libyans,   ^^  7  B'c 
who  revolted  against  their  harsh  task-masters.     A  struggle, 
known  as  the  Mercenary  War,  ensued,  carried .  on  by  both   Poiybius  i. 
parties  with  ferocious  cruelty.     Far  from  granting  quarter,     5 
they  tortured  their  prisoners  to  death,  crucified  them,  or 
threw  them  to  the  elephants  to  be  trampled  upon.     After 
four  years  of  pitiless  strife,  Hamilcar  destroyed  the  merce- 


ic>4 


Expansion  of  the  Roman  Pozvcf- 


Hamilcar  in 
Spain,  237- 
229  B.C. 


Polybius  ii. 
1 ;  iii.  10 ; 
Livy  xxi.  1  f ; 
Appian,  For- 
eign  Wars, 
vi.  5- 

Polybius  iii. 
11  ;   Livy 
xxi.  1. 

Carthaginian 
province  in 
Spain. 


Polybius  ii.  1. 


Hannibal. 


229-221  B.C. 


naries  and  reduced  the  insurgents.  While  his  city  was  still  in 
the  peril  of  this  war,  the  Romans  treacherously  seized  Sar- 
dinia ;  and  when  Carthage  remonstrated,  they  imposed,  in 
addition,  a  heavy  fine.  Sardinia  together  with  Corsica  be- 
came the  second  Roman  province. 

Hamilcar's  soul  burned  with  hatred  of  the  city  which, 
by  force  and  fraud,  had  robbed  his  fatherland  of  its  naval 
supremacy  and  its  fairest  provinces.  To  him  the  existing 
peace  was  to  be  a  preparation  for  war  which  in  turn  should 
make  Rome  feel  the  terrors  of  invasion.  As  he  saw  all 
Libya  bereft  of  resources  and  perceived  the  weakness  of  the 
mercenary  system,  he  planned  to  create  in  Spain  a  province 
which  should  supply  not  only  troops  but  all  other  means  of 
waging  a  more  successful  war.  The  story  is  told  that  when 
he  was  about  to  set  out  for  Spain,  he  led  his  son  Hannibal, 
then  a  boy  of  nine  years,  to  the  altar  and  made  him  swear 
undying  enmity  to  Rome. 

In  Spain  he  occupied  nine  years  in  forming  a  Cartha- 
ginian province  more  by  diplomacy  than  by  war ;  he  taught 
the  native  tribes  to  live  together  in  peace  under  his  rule  and 
to  develop  the  resources  of  their  country.  While  he  was 
engaged  in  this  work,  his  skill  and  his  money  created  a  new 
political  party  at  Carthage,  —  a  vigorous  democracy,  which 
opposed  the  peace-loving  capitalists  and  supported  its  leader 
in  his  far-reaching  plans  for  war.  "  Then  he  died  in  a  man- 
ner worthy  of  his  great  achievements ;  for  he  lost  his  life  in 
a  battle  in  which  he  showed  a  conspicuous  and  even  reck- 
less bravery.  As  his  successor,  the  Carthaginians  appointed 
his  son-in-law  Hasdrubal,  who  at  the  time  commanded  the 
fleet." 

Hasdrubal  continued  the  wise  policy  of  his  predecessor 
with  "  wonderful  skill  in  gaining  over  the  tribes  and  in  add- 
ing them  to  his  empire."      When  after  eight  years  of  such 


Second  Punic  War  105 

service  he  was  murdered  by  a  Celt,  the  soldiers  with  loud   Poiybius  ii. 
enthusiasm    carried    Hannibal    to    the    general's   tent   and  3<3;  Llvy 

XXI.  2. 

proclaimed   him    commander.     As   they  looked  upon  this 

young  man,  "  the  veterans  imagined  that  Hamilcar  in  his 

youth  was  restored  to  them ;  they  noticed  the  same  vigor  in 

his  frame,  the  same  animation  in  his  eyes,  the  same  features 

and  expression  of  the  face.  .   .  .     His  courage  in  meeting   Livy  xxi.  4. 

dangers    and   his    prudence   in   the    midst   of    them   were 

extreme.     Toil  could  neither  exhaust  his  body  nor  subdue 

his  mind,  and  he  could  endure  hunger  and  cold  alike.     He 

ate  and  drank  no  more  than  nature  demanded.     Working 

day  and  night,  he  thought  of  sleep  only  when  there  was 

nothing  else  to  do ;  then  wrapping  himself  in  his  military 

cloak,  he  would  lie  on  the  ground  among  the  watches  and 

the  outposts  of  the  army.     Though  he  dressed  as  a  plain 

officer,  his  arms  and  his  horses  were  splendid." 

When  Hannibal  felt  himself  prepared,  he  attacked  Sagun-   The  Second 
turn,  a  city  of  Spain  in  alliance  with  Rome,  and  took  it  after  PumcWar> 

J  *  218-201  B.C. 

a  siege  of  eight  months.     This  act  gave  the  Romans  a  pre- 
text for  war.     But  while  they  were  preparing  to  invade  both   pdybius  Hi. 
Spain  and   Libya,  with  the   idea  of  merely  extending  the   2off;  Llvy 

.  xxi-xxx ;  Ap- 

operations  of  the  preceding  war,   Hannibal,  with  a  well-  pian>  Foreign 

trained  army  of  fifty  thousand  infantry,  nine  thousand  cav-  Wars,  vii, 

airy,  and  a  number  of  elephants,  crossed  the  Pyrenees  and 

marched  rapidly  through  Gaul.     Recently  the  Romans  had  Pp.  126, 140. 

conquered  the  Celts  of  northern  Italy.    As  this  whole  nation 

was  indignant  with  Rome  on  account  of  injuries  received,  Livy  xxi.  20. 

they  eagerly  supported  Hannibal  in  his  march  through  their 

country.     It  was  not  till  the  crossing  of  the  Rhone  that  he 

met  with  opposition  from  the  natives.     When,  however,  he  Hannibal 

began  the  ascent  of  the  Alps,  the  real   difficulties  of  his  "j°ssses 

journey  appeared  ;  for  the  way  was  narrow  and  rough,  and      .        . 

the  mountaineers  attacked  him.     From  the  higher  ground,  35. 


106  Expansion  of  the  Roman  Power 

which  secured  their  own  safety,  they  rolled  stones  and 
hurled  missiles  upon  the  troops  and  upon  the  long  train  of 
pack  animals.  Many  soldiers  fell  and  many  beasts  of  bur- 
den were  either  disabled  or  lost,  so  that  the  army  suffered 
for  want  of  provisions.     At  length  with  great  toil  and  peril 


"  Hannibal  " 

(National  Museum,  Naples.) 

Hannibal  reached  the  summit,  where  he  rested  his  men 
and  cheered  them  with  some  such  words  as  these  :  "  Here 
on  the  summit  of  the  Alps,  we  hold  the  citadel  of  Italy; 
below  us  on  the  south  are  our  friends,  the  Gauls,  who  will 
supply  us  with  provisions  from  their  bountiful  lands  and  will 
help  us  against  their  deadly  foes ;  and  yonder  in  the  distance 
lies  Rome  J " 


Tic  in  us  aiid  Trebia  107 

The  descent  was  still  more  difficult  and  dangerous  ;  for   Hannibal  in- 
the  southern  slope  is  steeper,  so  that,  in  snow  and  ice,  the  ^  g  BC 
men  and   the   beasts  often  lost  their  foothold.     When  he 
reached  the  plain,  he  had  less  than  half  the  army  with  which 
he  had  set  out,  five  months  before,  from  Spain.     And  those    Poiybius  iii. 
who  survived  were  sick  and  feeble,  —  worn  out  with  fatigue,   s 
hunger,  and  exposure   to  cold  ;  their  arms   were   battered, 
their    horses    lame,    their    clothes   in    tatters  ;  they   seemed 
more  like  savages  than  well-disciplined  troops.     With  such 
forces  he   had   come   to  attack  a  nation   which   numbered 
seven  hundred  thousand  men  of  military  age.     And  yet  it 
was  to  be  no  one-sided  contest.     An  army  of  trained  sol- 
diers, full  of  the  spirit  of  their  great  commander,  opposed  a 
mere  militia.     A  born  genius  for  war,  Hannibal  had  served 
an  apprenticeship  under  his  illustrious  father  and  had  been 
a  pupil  of  his  own  veterans.     As  general  he  had  subdued 
fierce  tribes  of  Spaniards  and  of  Gauls  and  had  overcome 
the  Alps  themselves.     Compared  with  him,  though  he  was 
still  young,  the  Scipios  and  the  Fabii  were  tyros. 

The  appearance   of  Hannibal  in  the  valley  of  the    Po  Battle  on  the 
rudely  awakened  the  Romans  from  their  dream  of  conquest.      icinus- 
They  suddenly  realized  that  the  war  was  to  be  waged  for 
the  defence  of  their  homes  and  their  country.     In  a  light  Poiybius  iii. 
cavalry  battle  on  the  Ticinus,  a  tributary  of  the  Po,  Hanni-     \^  '    fv- 
bal  so  easily  routed  the  consul  Scipio  that  none  could  hence- 
forth doubt  the  superiority  of  the  Carthaginian  horsemen. 
The  consul  immediately  withdrew  to  the  south  bank  of  the 
Po,  and  sought  the  protection  of  the  hills  near  the  Trebia 
River.      Here    his    colleague,   Tiberius    Sempronius,    with 
another   army,  joined   him   and   took  chief  command  ;   for 
Scipio  had  been  wounded  in  the  battle. 

One  wintry  morning   in   December,  when   the   snow  fell   T*ebi^      g 
and  the  wind  blew  cold  and  damp  from  the  river  and  the    b.c. 


io8  Expansion  of  the  Roman  Power 

marshes,  Hannibal,  after  giving  his  men  a  good  breakfast 
Poiybius  iii.  and  plenty  of  oil  for  their  bodies,  sent  out  a  band  of  cavalry 
66-74;  Livy     tQ  tempt  ^e  enemy  across  the  river.     Sempronius,  who  was 

xxi   47—^6. 

eager  for  battle,  that  he  might  win  for  himself  the  glory  of 
victory,  readily  led  his  army  out  before  breakfast  through 
the  swollen  Trebia.  Hungry  and  numbed  with  cold,  the 
Romans  were  doomed  to  defeat.  The  Carthaginian  horse 
routed  their  wings,  while  Hannibal's  brother  Mago,  a  young 

Poiybius  iii.     man  "  full  of  youthful  enthusiasm  and  trained  from  boyhood 

71-  in  the  art  of  war,"  assailed  them  from  an  ambush  in  the 

rear.  The  struggle,  though  long,  ended  in  the  complete 
overthrow  of  the  Romans.  Ten  thousand  of  their  best 
infantry  fought  their  way  through  the  enemy  and  escaped. 
Nearly  all  the  rest  were  killed  or  captured,  and  Hannibal 
held  their  camp.  This  great  success  led  the  Gauls,  who 
had  hitherto  wavered,  to  cast  their  lot  with  the  victor. 

Excitement  News  of  the  misfortune  depressed   Rome.     Throughout 

at  Rome.  the  wjnter  superstitious  fear  so  disturbed  the  citizens  that 

they  were  ready  to  believe  every  idle  myth  they  chanced 
to  hear,  —  "that  in  the  vegetable  market,  an  ox  had  climbed 
to  the  third  story  of  a   house  and  had  leaped    thence  to 

Livy  xxi.  62.  the  ground,  that  ships  were  seen  in  the  sky,  .  .  .  that  the 
spear  at  Lanuvium  had  shaken  itself,  that  a  crow  had 
flown  into  the  temple  of  Juno  and  had  alighted  on  her 
couch,  .  .  .  that  it  had  rained  stones  in  Picenum." 
Still  more  wonderful  prodigies  were  excited  by  the  fact  that 

p.  140.  one  of  the  consuls-elect,  Gaius  Flaminius,  a  great  favorite 

of  the  people  and  an  enemy  of  the  senate,  had  gone  to  his 

P.  29.  command  at  Arretium,  in  Etruria,  without  taking  the  aus- 

pices. Servilius,  the  patrician  consul,  with  the  help  of  the 
senate,  provided  sacrifices  and  festivals  for  appeasing  the 
angry  gods  ;  after  which  he  set  out  to  his  own  command 
in  Ariminum.     Thus  the  consuls  lay,  each  with  his  army, 


Trasimene  1 09 

guarding  the  two  principal  roads  which  connected  the  Po 
valley  with  central  Italy. 

But  Hannibal  surprised  them  by  taking  an  unusual  route   Hannibal  in 
over  the  Apennines  far  to  the  west.    In  crossing  the  marshes      e  mars  es 
north  of  the  Arnus  River  his  troops  underwent  most  ter- 
rible   hardships.     "  All   suffered   grievously,  especially    be- 
cause they  could  not  get  sleep  on  a  continuous  march  of 
four  days  and  three  nights  through  a  route  which  was  under   Poiybius  in. 
water.  .  .  .     Most  of  his  pack  animals,  slipping  in  the  mud,   79~ 
fell  and  perished,  and  could  then  do  the  men  one  service 
only,  —  they  sat  upon  the  dead  bodies,  and  piling  baggage 
upon  them  so  as  to  stand  out  of  water,  they  managed  to  get 
a  snatch  of  sleep  for  a  short  portion  of  the  night." 

When  Hannibal  reached  dry  ground  in  Etruria  and  found   Battle  of 
Flaminius   still   guarding   Arretium,  he    passed  the   enemy     a  e    rasi" 
without  deigning  to  notice  him,  and  took  the  highway  for   b.c 
Rome,  plundering  as  he  went.     Flaminius  could  but  follow  ;    Poiybius  iii. 
for  he  felt  it  his  duty  to  protect  the  fields  of  the  allies,  and   8o_85;  Livy 

xxii.  3-7. 

he  knew  he  must  gain  a  victory  to  save  the  political  party 

he  represented,  in  its  conflict  with  the  senate.     Unwarily  he 

fell  into  a  trap  at    Lake    Trasimene,  where  he  was  killed 

and  his  army  annihilated.      When    news   of  this  calamity 

reached  Rome,  and  the  prretor  announced  to  the  people,  — 

"We    have    been  beaten  in  a  great  battle,"  the  Romans, 

long  unused  to  misfortune,  gave  way  to  unmanly  grief  and 

alarm.     With  the  advice  of  the  senate,  however,  they  elected  Fabius  the 

Quintus  Fabius  Maximus  dictator ;  for  the  surviving  consul   Cunc,ator- 

"  Delayer." 

was    too  far  away  to  make   the  appointment,  according  to 
custom. 

Meantime  Hannibal,  instead  of  attacking  Rome,  crossed   Hannibal  and 
the  peninsula  to  the  Adriatic  coast  and  moved   gradually  Fabius>  2I7 

B.C. 

southward,  gathering  vast  booty  from  the  country  through 
which  he  passed.     His  men  refreshed  themselves  with  good 


I  IO 


Expansion  of  tJic  Roman  Power 


P.  158,  n.  1. 


The  battle  of 
Cannae,  216 
B.C. 

Polybius  iii. 
107  ff;  Livy 
xxii.  34  ff. 


Pp.  46,  68. 


P.  141. 


Character  of 
the  Romans. 


food,  bathed  their  horses  in  old  wine,  and  prepared  to  meet 
the  next  Roman  army  which  should  come  against  them. 
But  instead  of  risking  a  battle,  Fabius  dogged  the  footsteps 
of  the  invader,  cut  off  foraging  parties,  and  trained  his  own 
men  to  face  the  enemy  in  small  encounters.  As  this  policy 
did  not  hinder  the  Carthaginians  from  marching  and  plunder- 
ing wherever  they  pleased,  it  proved  extremely  unpopular 
and  subjected  the  dictator  to  the  severest  criticism.  Yet  his 
persistence  in  avoiding  battle,  though  it  wrecked  the  office 
of  dictator,  saved  Rome  for  the  year  from  another  defeat. 

Unusual  efforts  were  made  to  levy  and  train  troops  for  the 
following  summer.  The  new  consuls,  ^Emilius  and  Varro,  led 
a  force  of  more  than  eighty  thousand  men,  including  allies, 
against  Hannibal.  This  was  the  largest  single  army  Rome 
had  ever  put  into  the  field,  while  the  force  of  the  enemy 
numbered  about  fifty  thousand.  The  two  armies  met  at 
Cannae  on  the  Aufidus  river  in  Apulia.  Varro,  who  held 
chief  command  on  the  day  of  battle,  massed  his  maniples 
in  a  heavy  line,  in  the  hope  of  overcoming  by  sheer  weight. 
While  the  superior  cavalry  of  the  enemy  routed  his  wings, 
his  centre,  a  solid  phalanx,  drove  in  the  opposing  Iberians 
and  Celts;  but  then  found  itself  assailed  on  all  sides, — 
Gauls  and  Iberians  in  front,  with  a  violent  wind  driving 
clouds  of  dust  in  the  face,  veteran  Libyans  on  both  flanks, 
and  in  the  rear  a  tempest  of  cavalry.  Too  crowded  to  keep 
rank  or  even  to  use  their  weapons,  the  Romans  fell  like 
sheep  under  the  knives  of  butchers.  Seven-eighths  of  their 
army,  including  yEmilius,  eighty  senators,  and  many  other 
eminent  men,  perished.  Varro,  who  survived,  collected  at 
Venusia  the  remnants  of  the  army,  amounting  to  scarcely 
ten  thousand  men. 

Intelligence  of  this  overwhelming  defeat  brought  intense 
agony  to  Rome.     Every  household  mourned  its  dead,  while 


Change  in  the  War  in 


"«5 


all  feared  for  the  city  and  for  their  own  lives.     "  In  spite  of 

all,  the  senate  left  no  means  untried  to  save  the  state.     It 

exhorted  the  people  to  fresh  exertions,  strengthened  the  city   Poiybius.  iii. 

with  guards,  and  deliberated  on  the  crisis  in  a  brave  and    II8- 

manly  spirit.     And  subsequent  events  made  this  manifest. 

For  though  the  Romans  were  decisively  beaten  in  the  field, 

and  had  lost  reputation  for  military  prowess,  the  peculiar 

excellence  of  their  political  constitution  and  the  prudence 

of  their   counsels   regained   for  them  the  supremacy  over 

Italy." 

On  the  evening  after  the  battle,  so  Livy  reports,  Maharbal,   "Let  us  on  to 
leader  of  the  Carthaginian  horsemen,  advised  his  comman-    T . 

°  Livy  XXII.  51. 

der,  "  Send  me  in  advance  with  the  cavalry,  follow  with  the 
army,  and  five  days  hence  we  shall  dine  in  Rome  ! "  Han- 
nibal knew,  however,  that  with  his  present  forces  he  could 
take  Rome  neither  by  storm  nor  by  siege  ;  but  through  the 
revolt  of  the  allies  he  hoped  to  undermine  the  defences  of 
the  capital. 

With    the    battle    of   Cannae    the    character    of   the    war   Changed 
changed.     Nearly  all  the  allies  of  Rome  in  southern  Italy,   \^™m 
including  the  great  cities  of  Capua  and  Tarentum,  revolted. 
On  the  death  of  Hiero,  king  of  Syracuse,  Sicily  also  for- 
sook Rome.     Philip  V,  king  of  Macedonia,  who  watched   215  b.c. 
jealously  the  interference  of  the  senate  in  the  Greek  penin-   p.  121,  n.  2. 
sula,  allied  himself  with  the  victorious  Carthaginian.    Though 
none  of  these  allies  gave  material  help,  Hannibal  felt  him- 
self bound  to  protect  his  Italian   friends.     The  policy  of 
defence  to  which  he  was  thus  forced,  gradually  wasted  his 
army,  robbed  him  of  the  prestige  of  success,  and  in  the  end 
caused  his  failure.     The  greatest  of  all  obstacles  in  his  way 
were  the  fortified  Latin  colonies  distributed  over  Italy,  which    p.  63. 
continued  faithful  to  Rome.     These  strongholds  he  was  un- 
able to  take.     On  the  other  side,  the  Romans  henceforth 


112 


Expansion  of  the  Roman  Power 


The  siege  of 
Syracuse  and 
of  Capua. 


Polybius 
viii.  9. 


212  B.C. 


211  B.C. 


divided  their  levy  into  several  small  armies  for  defending 
their  remaining  allies  and  for  attacking  the  enemy  at  weak 
points.  Their  defeat  in  three  great  battles  taught  them  to 
follow  the  policy  of  Fabius,  the  "Shield  of  Rome"  ;  hence 

there  were  no 
more  pitched  bat- 
tles with  Hannibal 
in  Italy. 

The  Romans 
made  great  efforts 
to  regain  Sicily. 
Marcellus,  the 
"Sword  of  Rome," 
besieged  Syracuse 
by  land  and  sea. 
For  a  long  time 
the  engines  of 
Archimedes,  the 
famous  mathema- 
tician, baffled  him; 
"  so  true  is  it  that 
one  man  and  one 
intellect  properly 
qualified  for  a  par- 
ticular undertak- 
ing is  a  host  in 
itself."  At  last  they  took  the  city,  plundered  it,  and  killed 
many  of  the  people,  including  Archimedes,  whom  some 
soldiers  found  busy  with  his  diagrams.  Next  Capua  was 
surrounded  by  three  Roman  armies,  which  Hannibal  tried 
in  vain  to  drive  away.  In  the  hope  of  diverting  at  least 
a  part  of  the  force,  so  as  to  relieve  the  besieged  allies, 
he   suddenly  marched  upon  Rome  and  pitched  his   camp 


"  Marcellus" 

(Capiloline  Museum,  Rome.) 


The  Scipios  1 1 3 

three  miles  from  the  city.  The  inhabitants  imagined  that 
their  terrible  enemy  had  destroyed  the  armies  at  Capua 
and  would  soon  hold  the  citadel  of  Rome.  But  while 
the  women  in  terror  implored  the  gods  for  help  and 
"swept  with  their  hair  the  pavements  of ■  the  temples,"  new  Poiybiusix.6. 
recruits,  pouring  in  from  the  country,  manned  the  walls. 
As  Rome  defended  herself  without  relaxing  the  siege  of 
Capua,  Hannibal  gave  up  hope  of  saving  this  city.  When 
it  fell,  the  Romans  scourged  and  beheaded  the  senators, 
and  dispersed  the  people  among  the  Latin  colonies  or  sold 
them  into  slavery,  —  a  warning  to  all  who  meditated  revolt. 
Tarentum  was  afterward  taken  and  suffered  a  similar  pun- 
ishment. 

Hannibal  still  inspired  terror;  he  still  gained  successes,   Hannibal  still 
though  the  Romans  dared  not  offer  open  battle.     Marcellus    ern  e' 
allowed  himself  to  be  surprised  and  killed  ;  Fabius,  now  old, 
was  Rome's  chief  commander  in  Italy. 

Meantime   important   events  were    happening  in  Spain.   The  scipios 
For  years  Hasdrubal,  the  brother  of  Hannibal  who  had  been   in0pain_ 

J  '  2I8-2I2  B.C. 

left  in  command  of   that    country,  proved    inferior  to  the 
Romans  under  the  brothers  Publius  and  Gnaeus  Scipio.     At 
length,   however,  with   reinforcements    from    Carthage,    he 
overwhelmed  and  destroyed  the  separate  armies  of  these 
two  generals,  who  died  bravely  with  their  men.     The  victor 
was  in  a  fair  way  to  win  all  Spain  back  to  Carthage  when  the 
Romans  sent  thither  as  proconsul  Publius  Scipio,  son  of  the   211  b.c. 
deceased  general  of  the  same  name.     The  new  commander 
was  a  young  man  still  in  his  twenties.     In  addition  to  mili-   Livy  xxvi. 
tary  genius,  he  had  a  gifted  mind  and  an  attractive  person- 
ality ;     in    a    state    based    upon    average    intellect,    he   was    P.  142  f. 
dangerously  original ;    his  contempt  for  the  formalities  of 
law  was  Greek  rather  than  Roman.     Soon  after  his  arrival   210  b.c. 
he  surprised  and  captured  New  Carthage,  the  chief  city  and 
1 


U4 


Expansion  of  tJic  Roman  Power 


The  battle 
on  the  Me- 
taurus,  207 
B.C. 


Polybius  ix. 
1-3;   Livy 
xxvii.  39-51. 


Publius 
Scipio  recon- 
quers Spain, 
208-206  B.C. 


Livy  xxviii. 
1  ff . 


The  battle  of 
Zama,  202 
B.C. 


arsenal  of  the  enemy  in  Spain.  Hasdrubal,  however,  skil- 
fully eluded  him,  and  with  a  large  army  and  abundant  treas- 
ures, set  out  by  land  for  Italy  to  reenforce  his  brother. 

The  crisis  of  the  war  came  in  207  B.C.,  when  Hasdrubal, 
descending  from  the  Alps  and  drawing  in  his  train  a  host  of 
Gauls  and  Ligurians,  marched  southward  to  meet  Hannibal. 
If  the  two  great  enemies  of  Rome  should  unite,  she  could 
no  longer  hope  for  victory ;  for  her  country  was  desolate 
from  end  to  end  ;  her  best  generals  had  perished  ;  her  faith- 
ful colonies,  exhausted  by  war,  were  beginning  to  refuse  aid ; 
her  last  armies  were  in  the  field.  Fortunately  for  her  the 
messengers  who  bore  to  Hannibal  the  news  of  his  brother's 
coming  were  taken  by  the  consul  Gaius  Claudius  Nero, 
commander  of  the  army  in  southern  Italy,  opposed  to  Han- 
nibal. Stealthily  hurrying  to  the  north,  Claudius  united  his 
army  with  that  of  his  colleague,  Marcus  Livius  Salinator ; 
and  the  two  consuls  surprised  and  destroyed  Hasdrubal 
with  his  army  on  the  Metaurus  River.  As  Claudius  returned 
southward  he  carried  with  him  the  head  of  the  defeated 
Carthaginian,  which  he  directed  to  be  thrown  into  the 
camp  of  Hannibal,  —  to  inform  him  of  his  misfortune.  In 
the  ghastly  features  of  his  brother,  Hannibal  read  his  own 
fate  and  the  doom  of  his  city.  ■ 

After  this  battle,  while  Hannibal  still  maintained  himself 
in  southern  Italy,  Publius  Scipio  reconquered  Spain.  The 
story  of  this  campaign  abounds  in  the  romantic  adventures 
and  the  chivalrous  acts  of  the  commander,  —  the  first 
Roman  whom  we  may  admire  both  for  the  kindness  and 
generosity  of  his  character  and  for  the  brilliancy  of  his 
mind. 

Master  of  Spain,  he  returned  to  Rome,  whence  as  consul 
he  invaded  Africa  and  threatened  Carthage.  Hannibal 
quitted  Italy  in  obedience  to  his  country's  call ;  and  add- 


Terms  of  Peace  1 1 5 

ing  raw  recruits  to  his  small  veteran  force,  he  met  Scipio  at   Poiybius  xv. 
some  distance  from  Zama,  a  town  nearly  south  of  Carthage. 

J  °        xxx.  29-36 ; 

Here  was  fought  the  last  battle  of  the  long  war.  By  a  happy  Appian,  For- 
inspiration,  Scipio  placed  the  maniples  of  the  second  and  e'£n  Wars> 
third  divisions  behind  those  of  the  first,  thus  forming 
columns  with  open  lanes  between,  through  which  the 
enemy's  elephants  could  make  their  way  without  disturb- 
ing the  ranks.  He  was  favored,  too,  by  the  fact  that  the 
Numidians,  now  his  allies,  furnished  him  with  cavalry  supe- 
rior to  that  of  Carthage.  For  the  first  time  Hannibal  suf- 
fered defeat  in  a  pitched  battle,  —  a  defeat  which  made 
further  resistance  hopeless. 

By  the  terms  of  treaty  which  followed,  Carthage  agreed   The  terms  of 
to  surrender  Spain,  and  to  pay  Rome  two  hundred  talents  '  ~ 

of  silver  a  year  for  fifty  years ;  to  give  up  all  her  elephants 
and  all  her  war-ships  except  ten  triremes  ;  to  wage  no  war   Poiybius  xv. 

outside  of  Libya  and  in  Libya  none  without  the  consent  of  l8;  Llvvxxx- 

37> 
Rome.    With  sorrow  the  Queen  of  the  Waters  saw  her  great 

fleet  sink  in  flames.  Even  more  galling  was  the  clause  of 
the  treaty  which  forbade  her  waging  war  in  Libya ;  for  it 
left  her  helpless  against  Rome's  ally,  Masinissa,  king  of 
Numidia,  who  plundered  Carthaginian  territory  to  the  ex- 
tent of  his  pleasure.  Such  was  Rome's  policy  toward  a 
fallen  enemy. 

The  long  war  between  Carthage  and  Rome  for  the  con-   This  war  the 
trol  of  Europe  and  Africa  was  ended;  and  while  the  con-   ,,0^°^° 
queror  of  Hannibal  journeyed  in  triumph  from  Rhegium  to 
the  capital,  the  Italians  hailed  him  as  their  saviour.     Rome 
named  him  Africanus  after  the  continent  he  had  subdued. 
But  neither  the  conqueror  nor  the  victory  promised  political  . 
quiet  or  external  peace  :    the  battle  at  Zama  foretold  the 
progress  of  victorious    Roman    legions   through  the  whole 
circle  of  Mediterranean  countries  ;  in  Scipio  Africanus  the 


u6 


Expansion  of  tlie  Roman  Empire 


p.  143. 


Condition  of 
the  East, 
about  200 
B.C. 


Cf.  pp.  in, 
121,  n.  2. 


Holm, 
Greece,  iv. 
p.  290  ff. 
P.  65. 


First  Mace- 
donian War, 
215-205  B.C. 

Polybius  vii. 
9;  Livyxxiii. 

33  f- 

The  Second 
Ilacedonian 
Var,  200-196 
B.C. 


historian  sees  the  first  of  a  succession  of  brilliant  generals, 
who,  while  subduing  the  world,  overthrew  the  government 
of  the  republic. 

When,  after  the  Second  Punic  War,  Rome  began  seriously 
to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  Greece,  there  were  in  the  East 
three  great  kingdoms,  remnants  of  Alexander's  empire : 
first,  that  of  the  Seleucidae,  in  western  Asia,  including  a  part 
of  Asia  Minor ;  second,  Macedonia,  which  through  garri- 
sons controlled  Thessaly,  Corinth,  and  various  other  states 
of  Greece  ■  and  third,  Egypt,  whose  kings  claimed  Phoe- 
nicia and  a  few  possessions  in  Asia  Minor  and  in  Thrace. 
In  addition  to  the  great  powers,  there  were  two  Grecian 
leagues,  —  the  .Etolian  and  the  Achaean, —  and  many  lesser 
independent  states,  as  the  republic  of  Rhodes,  brilliant  in 
commerce  and  in  art,  and  the  kingdoms  of  Pergamum, 
Bithynia,  and  Pontus.  In  the  tangled  international  rela- 
tions we  find  this  guiding  thread  :  in  self-defence  Egypt 
sought  peace ;  the  smaller  states,  especially  those  engaged 
in  commerce,  as  Rhodes  and  Athens,  following  the  same 
policy,  looked  to  Egypt  for  support ;  on  the  other  hand, 
Antiochus  III,  the  Seleucid,  and  Philip  V  of  Macedonia, 
ambitious  sovereigns,  tried  to  extend  their  power.  Rome, 
allied  to  Egypt  and  hostile  to  Philip  V  because  of  his  treaty 
with  Hannibal,  was  to  appear  in  Greece  as  a  protector  of 
peace  and  of  freedom  against  the  Macedonian  despot. 

The  first  conflict  between  Rome  and  Macedonia,  which 
fell  within  the  Second  Punic  War,  though  marked  by  no 
important  battles,  brought  Rome  into  alliance  with  .Etolia, 
Athens,  Pergamum,  and  other  Eastern  states,  and  thus  pre- 
pared the  way  for  future  complications. 

No  sooner  was  the  Roman  senate  free  from  the  struggle 
with  Carthage  than  it  forced  upon  the  people  a  second  war 
with   Philip  in  behalf  of  the  allies  whom   he  was  assailing. 


Second  Macedonian  War 


117 


The  first  army  sent  to  Greece  accomplished  little,  as  it  was   Polybius  xvi 
made  up  of  volunteers  who  had  enlisted  for  plunder  rather   ~A.  xv 

*•  J_*IV\'  XXXI.  I- 

than  for  war.  Later  the  young  but  able  consul  Flamininus,  xxxiii.  30. 
led  against  Philip  a  strong  army  of  twenty-five  thousand 
men,  composed  of  Italians  and  Greek  allies.  Though 
Philip  had  about  the  same  number,  most  of  his  troops  were 
boys.  The  eyes  of  the  world  followed  the  movements  of 
the  Roman  legion  and  the  Macedonian  phalanx,  for  again,  as 


A  Scene  in  Macedonia 


in  the  time  of  Pyrrhus,  these  two  most  efficient  military  sys-   Botsford, 

tems  of  the  ancients  came  into  conflict.     The  phalanx  was 

r  p.  326. 

a  solid  body  of  bronze-clad  warriors  bristling  with  long 
pikes  ;  on  level  ground  it  was  unconquerable,  but  among 
the  hills  it  could  be  easily  broken.  The  legion,  on  the 
contrary,  was  light  and  flexible,  developed  especially  with 
a  view  to  fighting  the  mountaineers  of  central  Italy.  At 
Cynoscephalse  —  "  Dogs'  Heads  "  —  a  low  range  of  hills  in   The  battle  of 

„,,  .  1       r  1  i      ..i        Cynoscepha- 

Thessaly,  the    armies  met,  and    after   a  sharp  struggle  the   la5>.I97B#C- 

legion  was  victorious.     The  success  of  Rome  was  due  to  her 


u8 


Expansion  of  the  Roman  Power 


Terms  of 
peace,  196 
B.C. 


The  freedom 
of  Greece. 


military  organization,  to  the  poor  quality  of  the  opposing 
troops,  and  above  all,  to  the  superior  ^tolian  cavalry  in 
her  service. 

The  vanquished  king  was  compelled  to  cede  his  various 
Greek  possessions  to  the  victor.  But  as  the  commons  of 
Rome  were  still  opposed  to  aggression  in  the  East,  as 
Antiochus  III  threatened,  and  as  any  attempt  to  introduce 
garrisons  into  Greek  towns  would  have  created  a  storm  of 
opposition,  Rome  decided  to  be  magnanimous.  Accord- 
ingly at  the  Isthmian  festival  of  the  following  spring,  by  the 
direction  of  Flamininus  and  his  colleagues,  who  were  peace 
commissioners,  a  herald  proclaimed  to  the  assembly  the 
freedom  of  all  the  Greeks  who  had  been  ruled  by  Philip. 
"  After  the  games  were  over,  in  the  extravagance  of  their 
joy,  they  nearly  killed  Flamininus  by  the  exhibition  of  their 
gratitude.  Some  wanted  to  look  him  in  the  face  and  call 
him  their  preserver ;  others  were  eager  to  touch  his  hand. 
Most  threw  garlands  and  fillets  upon  him  ;  and  among  them 
they  nearly  crushed  him  to  death."  Though  Flamininus 
wished  well  for  Greece,  his  gift  of  freedom  was  a  fair  delu- 
sion. The  Greeks  were  still  capable  of  gratitude,  of  noble 
impulses,  and  of  high  aspirations,  but  they  could  not  keep 
peace  among  themselves,  —  the  only  guarantee  of  their  lib- 
erty. Under  these  circumstances  their  gratitude  to  Rome 
and  Rome's  protectorate  of  their  freedom  were  to  prove 
the  double  bond  of  their  slavery. 

Fearing  Roman  aggression,  Antiochus  III  invaded  Greece 
war,  192-189  am^  in  his  tunij  piaye(j  the  game  of  freeing  that  country. 
He  had  been  encouraged  to  war  by  Hannibal,  whom  the 
Roman  senate  had  forced  into  exile,  and  who  was  now  at 
the  court  of  the  Seleucid  king.  Had  the  great  Carthaginian 
been  given  the  direction  of  affairs,  he  might  again  have 
invaded  Italy  to  wage  a  new  war  by  means  of  the  boundless 


Polybius 
xviii.  46. 


The  Asiatic 


I  .ivy  xxxiii 
44-xxxviii. 
38. 


Asiatic  War  1 1 9 

resources  of  the  East.  But  jealousy  and  littleness  of  mind 
prevented  Antiochus  from  undertaking  so  magnificent  a 
scheme.  Driven  from  Europe,  the  king  suffered  an  over- 
whelming defeat  at  Magnesia,  in  Asia  Minor,  at  the  hands   190  b.c. 


A  Galatian  and  his  Wife 

(Museum  of  the  Piombino  Palace,  Rome.) 

of  Lucius  Scipio,  brother  of  Africanus.  As  a  result  of  this 
unsuccessful  war,  he  gave  up  all  his  possessions  west  of 
Mount  Taurus.  Although  Rome  bestowed  a  part  of  the 
ceded  territory  upon  Pergamum  and  another  part  upon 
Rhodes,  leaving  several  small  states  independent  and  keep- 


120  Expansion  of  the  Roman  Power 

ing  nothing  for  herself,  she  extended  her  protectorate  over 
all  Asia  Minor.  Hannibal  fled  to  Bithynia,  where  he  died 
by  poison  to  escape  the  Romans.  Antiochus  was  stoned  to 
death  by  his  own  people ;  and  his  great  empire  rapidly 
dwindled  to  the  petty  kingdom  of  Syria. 
Roman  policy       Meantime   through    envoys,   the    states   of  Greece   con- 

toward  stantlv  accused  one  another  before  the  Roman  senate,  and 

Greece.  J 

constantly  invited  that  body  to  settle  their  quarrels.  Ac- 
cordingly we  find  one  senatorial  commission  after  another 
coming  to  Greece  to  arbitrate  disputes  and  to  look  after  the 
interests  of  the  republic.  Their  respect  for  Greek  culture, 
however,  did  not  prevent  them  from  fostering  disunion,  — 
from  undermining  the  Achaean  League.  To  rid  themselves 
of  a  troublesome  Hellenic  patriot,  these  "  lovers  of  Greece" 
sometimes  resorted  even  to  assassination. 

Perseus  of  Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  Philip  died  and  was 

Macedonia,      succeeded  by  his  son  perSeus.     More  amiable  though  less 

179  B.C.  J  ° 

able  than  his  father,  he  cherished  the  noble  ambition  of 
championing  Hellas  against  barbarian  Rome.  "  Penny  wise 
and  pound  foolish,  strong  in  preparation,  weak  in  action,  he 

How  and        was  incapable   of  wise  daring  and   generous   expenditure. 

Leigh,  Rome,   He  iacked  that  rapid  decision  and  unfaltering  resolve  that 

P.  27  K. 

could  alone  have  borne  his  enterprise  to  success."  His 
clever  diplomacy  and  the  national  aspirations  of  the  Greeks, 
who  once  more  strove  for  unity  and  freedom,  were  rapidly 
bringing  them  into  touch  with  Macedonia,  when  Rome,  to 
prevent  this  dreaded  combination,  declared  war  against 
Perseus,  1 7 1  B.C. 
The  Third  As   it   was   now   well   known    that    service    in  the    East 

Macedonian      enriched  tiie  troops  with  booty,  there  was  no  lack  of  recruits 

War,  171-167  *  J 

b.c.  for  the  war.     During  the  first  three  years,  the  generals  of 

the  republic,  instead  of  fighting  Perseus,  plundered  Greece. 
Their  incompetence  and  greed  alienated  allies  and  encour- 


TJiird  Macedonian  War  121 

aged  the  enemy,  till  Rome  felt  compelled  to  put  in  com-   Livy  xlii.  51- 
mand   a   man    of  character   and    ability,    Lucius   ^Emilius   *Jch  JeJ/- 
Paulus.1      Historians  lay  stress  on  his   honesty,  —  a  virtue   ,-BJ|  7  ff. 
which  was  growing  rare  among  the  public  men  of  the  time. 
He  had  a  broad,  generous  sympathy,  which  won  the  esteem 
even   of  foreigners;    and  though  upward  of  sixty,  he  was 
still  vigorous.     He  met  and  conquered  Perseus  at  Pydna,  a  The  battle  of 
city  of  Macedonia.     "  ^Emilius  had  never  seen  a  phalanx  pydna-  1 

*  B.C. 

till  he  saw  it  in  the  army  of  Perseus  on  this  occasion  ;  and   Polybius 
he  often  admitted  to  his  friends  at  Rome  afterward  that  he   xxix.  17. 
had  never  beheld  anything   more   alarming   and    terrible ; 
and   yet   he,  as   often   as  any  man,  had  been  not  only  a 
spectator  but  an  actor  in  many  battles."    The  king  escaped, 
but  was  taken  later,  and  after  following,  with   his  young 
children,  in  the  triumphal  procession  of  the  conqueror,  he 
died  in  prison  either  by  his  own  hand  or  by  the  cruelty  of 
the  jailer.     At  the  close  of  the  war  the  Romans  imposed  an 
annual  tribute   on  the  Illyrians  for  having  aided   Perseus.2 
Macedonia  they  divided  into  four  republics,  which  they  pro- 
hibited from  all  intercourse  with  one  another.     Thus  a  great 
state  perished.     The  cities  yielded  to  the  victor  shiploads  of 
furniture,  precious  metals,  and  works  of  art.    In  addition,  the 
troops  plundered  Epirus  for  having  sided  with  the  king  ;  they 
carried  thence  vast  spoil  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 

1  Son  of  yEmilius  who  died  at  Cannae,  p.  1 10. 

2  Trouble  with  the  Illyrians  began  long  before.  In  229-228  B.C. 
Rome  punished  them  for  piracy,  and  compelled  them  to  keep  their 
hands  off  Corcyra  and  Epidamnus.  Rome's  treaties  with  these  two 
Hellenic  states  were  her  first  diplomatic  dealings  with  Greece.  In 
219  B.C.  she  waged  a  second  war  with  the  Illyrians  in  behalf  of  her 
Greek  allies,  who  were  already  increasing  in  number.  But  it  was  not 
till  this  piratical  nation  had  cast  its  lot  with  Perseus  that  the  Romans 
determined  to  annex  it,  and  even  then — 167  B.C.  —  they  did  not 
organize  it  as  a  province;   p.  127,  n.  1. 


122 


Expansion  of  the  Roman  Power 


The  senate 
all-powerful. 

Polybius  xxx. 
19. 


Political 
slavery  of 
Greece. 


150  B.C. 

Plutarch, 

M.  Cato,  9. 


inhabitants,  who  were  sold  into  slavery.     Nevertheless  they 
grumbled  at  their  commander  for  allowing  them  so  little. 

The  senate  now  sat  on  the  pinnacle  of  power  and  glory. 
The  rulers  of  the  nations  sent  their  humble  respects  to  its 
majesty,  and  begged  permission  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to 
Rome  ;  the  king  of  Bithynia,  in  the  guise  of  a  freedman, 
hailed  its  members  as  his  guardian  gods.  The  senate  of  this 
age  was  the  ablest  of  ancient  councils.  A  degree  of  justice 
and  liberality  strengthened  its  inborn  political  cleverness. 
For  at  the  close  of  a  successful  war  two  classes  of  states  and  of 
persons  received  its  favors,  —  first  the  faithful,  whatever  their 
condition,  and  second,  the  strong,  whatever  their  character 
and  conduct,  while  it  wreaked  merciless  vengeance  upon 
those  who  were  at  once  erring  and  weak.  Its  policy,  too,  of 
isolating  or  of  dividing  the  strong  and  of  sowing  discord 
among  possible  enemies  tended  in  the  end  to  peace  and 
order.  But  power  and  wealth  corrupted  it.  With  each 
success  it  grew  more  grasping  and  more  arrogant ;  and 
among  all  the  senators  there  was  no  wise  man  to  utter  the 
warning,  i(  Pride  goeth  before  destruction." 

For  Greece  there  was  to  be  no  more  freedom.  In  all  the 
chief  states,  the  commission  for  the  settlement  of  Macedonia 
received  complaints  from  the  Romanizing  party  against  those 
who  sympathized  with  Perseus  ;  and  the  accused  were  sent  to 
Rome  for  trial.  A  thousand  from  the  Achaean  League  alone, 
including  Polybius,  the  statesman  and  historian,  were  thus 
carried  into  captivity.  Far  from  being  given  a  trial,  how- 
ever, they  were  detained  sixteen  years  among  the  towns  of 
Etruria.  The  influence  of  Polybius  procured  the  release  of 
the  three  hundred  who  then  remained.  "  It  is  only  a  ques- 
tion," said  Cato,  "whether  a  few  decrepit  Greeks  shall  be 
buried  by  our  grave-diggers  or  by  those  of  their  own 
country." 


Third  Punic  War  123 

The  renewed  quarrels  of  the  Greeks,  the  bitterness  which   Tnedestruc- 

,  11     tion  of  Cor" 

the  returning  exiles  excited  against  Rome,  and  an  outbreak   inthj  I46BCg 

in  Macedonia  led  the  senate  once  more  to  interfere.    Metel-   p0iybius 
lus   made  a   province  of  Macedonia.     Mummius  defeated   xxxix.  8-17; 
the  Achaean  army.     He   then    entered    Corinth,  the  chief    vii  ri_l6 
offender,  and  according  to  the  laws  of  war  which  prevail 
among  barbarians,  killed    most  of  the  men  he  found  and 
enslaved  the  women  and  children.     After  removing  every- 
thing  of  value,    he    burned    the   city  to  the   ground.     As 
Corinth,  stripped  of  her  wealth  and  her  art,  sank  into  ruin,    Botsford, 

the  Greeks  at  length  realized  that  while  they  still  retained    Gret'ce< 

p.  327. 

the  form  of  liberty,  the  Roman  senate  was  their  master.  It 
ruled  them  indirectly,  through  partisan  aristocracies  in  the 
towns  and  through  the  governor  of  Macedonia.  Politi- 
cally the  Greeks  were  dead  ;  their  dissensions  had  ruined 
them.  If  the  Romans  should  govern  them  well,  they  would 
thereby  justify  the  conquest. 

In  the  same  year  the  Romans  destroyed  Carthage.     For  Third  Punic 
the  beginning  of  the  trouble  which  led  to  this  event  we  must   B  *r'  I49  I4 
go  back  to  the  close  of  the  Second  Punic  War.     The  treaty 
with  Hannibal  had  forbidden  Carthage,  without  the   con-   Poiybius 
sent  of  Rome,  to  defend  herself  against    attack.     Taking   xxx11-2". 

xxx vi.  2  ft ; 

advantage  of  this  condition,  Masinissa,  king  of  Numidia,  an   Appian,  Or- 
ally of  Rome,  continually  plundered    the  territory  of  Car-   e''g"  Wars, 

viii.  67—132. 

thage  and  seized  some  of  her  best  lands.  In  answer  to  her  p 
complaints  Rome  sent  out  various  commissioners,  who  in 
every  case  were  instructed  to  give  secret  encouragement  to 
the  plunderer.  As  a  member  of  such  a  commission,  Cato,  p.  143. 
a  narrow-minded  statesman,  of  whom  we  shall  hear  more, 
brought  home  a  startling  report  of  the  wealth  and  prosperity 
of  Carthage.  In  his  opinion,  the  city  of  Hannibal  still 
menaced  Rome.  Indeed  he  is  said  to  have  ended  every 
speech  in  the  senate,  whatever  the  subject,  with  the  words, 


124 


Expansion  of  the  Roman  Power 


Appian,  For- 
eign Wars, 
viii.  77. 


The  destruc- 
tion of  Car- 
thage, 146 
B.C. 


Appian,  For- 
eign 1 1  ars, 
viii.  128  f. 
( Probably 
from  Polyb- 
ius,  who 
was  present.) 


"  Carthage  must  be  destroyed  !  "  He  easily  convinced  the 
capitalists,  who  wished  for  a  monopoly  of  the  world's  com- 
merce, and  who  formed  a  majority  of  the  senate.  Accord- 
ingly the  consuls  sailed  for  Utica  with  an  immense  army. 
To  avoid  war  the  Carthaginians  were  ready  for  every  con- 
cession. First  they  handed  over  three  hundred  children  as 
hostages.  The  mothers,  who  gave  them  up,  "  clung  to  the 
little  ones  with  frantic  cries  and  seized  hold  of  the  ships 
and  of  the  officers  who  were  taking  them  away."  "If  you 
sincerely  desire  peace,"  said  the  consuls  on  their  arrival  at 
Utica,  "why  do  you  need  arms?  surrender  them."  After 
vain  protests  the  people  gave  up  their  armor,  enough  for 
two  hundred  thousand  men,  besides  two  thousand  engines 
for  throwing  missiles  and  stones.  "We  congratulate  you  on 
your  promptness,"  the  consuls  continued ;  "  now  yield 
Carthage  to  us  and  settle  wherever  you  like  within  your 
own  land,  ten  miles  from  the  sea;  for  we  are  resolved  to 
destroy  your  city." 

The  boundless  grief  and  fury  of  the  people,  excited  by 
such  cruel  perfidy,  settled  down  to  a  fixed  resolve  to  defend 
their  city  to  the  last  drop  of  blood.  As  they  had  to  make 
new  weapons,  they  converted  even  the  temples  into  work- 
shops, and  the  women  gave  their  hair  for  bowstrings.  They 
gallantly  repulsed  the  attacks  of  the  consuls,  and  for  three 
years  they  defended  themselves  like  heroes.  At  last  Scipio 
yEmilianus1  forced  a  passage  into  the  city,  where  he  fought 
his  way  not  only  through  the  streets  below,  but  even  on  the 
housetops,  from  roof  to  roof.  "  All  places  were  filled  with 
groans,  shrieks,  shouts,  and  every  kind  of  agony.  Some 
[Carthaginians]  were  stabbed,  others  were  hurled  alive 
from  the  roofs  to  the  pavement,  some  of  them  alighting  on 

1  Son  of  .l.milius  l'aulus  (p.  I2l),  but  adopted  into  the  family  of 
the  Seipios. 


Destruction  of  Carthage 


125 


the  heads  of  spears.  .  .  .  Then  he  set  fire  to  the  three 
streets  all  together,  and  gave  orders  to  keep  the  passage- 
ways clear  of  burning  material  so  that  the  army  might  move 
back  and  forth  freely. 

"  Then  came  new  scenes  of  horror.     As  the  fire  spread   The  honors 
and  carried  everything  down,  the  soldiers  did  not  destroy 
the  buildings  little  by  little,  but  all  in  a  heap.     So  the  crash- 


of  war. 


Storming  a  City 

ing  grew  louder,  and  many  corpses  fell  with  the  stones  into 
the  midst.  Others  were  seen  still  living,  especially  old  men, 
women,  and  young  children  who  had  hidden  in  the  inmost 
nooks  of  the  houses,  some  of  them  wounded,  some  more  or 
less  burned,  and  uttering  piteous  cries.  Still  others,  thrust 
out  and  falling  from  such  a  height  with  the  stones,  timbers, 
and  fire,  were  torn  asunder  in  all  shapes  of  horror,  crushed 
and  mangled.  Nor  was  this  the  end  of  their  miseries,  for 
the  street  cleaners  who  were  removing  the  rubbish  with  axes, 


126 


Expansion  of  the  Roman  Power 


Ligunan, 
Gallic,  and 
Spanish 
wars. 


Pp.  105,  108, 
140. 


197  B.C. 


mattocks,  and  forks,  and  making  the  road  passable,  tossed 
with  these  instruments  the  dead  and  the  living  together  into 
holes  in  the  ground,  dragging  them  along  like  sticks  and 
stones,  and  turning  them  over  with  their  iron  tools.  .  .  . 
Horses  ran  over  them  .  .  .  not  purposely  on  the  part  of  the 
riders,  but  in  their  headlong  haste.  Nor  did  the  street 
cleaners  do  these  things  on  purpose  ;  but  the  tug  of  war, 
the  glory  of  approaching  victory,  the  rush  of  the  soldiery, 
the  orders  of  the  officers,  the  blast  of  the  trumpets,  tribunes 
and  centurions  marching  their  cohorts  hither  and  thither  — 
all  together  made  everybody  frantic  and  heedless  of  the 
spectacles  under  their  eyes."  This  picture,  apparently 
drawn  by  an  eye-witness,  needs  no  comment.  After  the 
Romans  had  exterminated  this  innocent  people,  they  cursed 
the  ground  on  which  the  city  stood,  that  it  might  never  be 
rebuilt,  and  the  territory  it  ruled  they  made  into  the  prov- 
ince of  Africa. 

The  story  of  the  conquest  of  Greece  and  Carthage,  just 
told,  illustrates  the  character  of  Roman  warfare  during  the 
half  century  which  followed  the  peace  with  Hannibal.  In 
the  same  period,  wars  with  the  Ligurians  and  the  rebellious 
Celts  of  northern  Italy  ended  in  the  thorough  conquest  of 
Cisalpine  Gaul.  Spain,  subdued  in  the  Second  Punic  War, 
was  made  into  two  provinces.  But  the  people  of  this  coun- 
try so  loved  liberty  and  were  so  obstinate  that  the  Romans 
had  to  reconquer  them  several  times.  While  doing  so,  they 
showed  increasing  cruelty  and  perfidy  :  they  violated  trea- 
ties ;  they  connived  at  the  murder  of  Spanish  leaders ;  they 
massacred  troops  who  had  surrendered  under  agreement. 
The  siege  of  Numantia,  a  rebellious  town  of  Spain,  was  a 
repetition  of  the  siege  of  Carthage,  —  it  reveals  the  immo- 
rality and  weakness  of  the  common  soldiers,  the  baseness 
and  incompetence  of  the  generals,  and  still  worse,  the  alarm- 


Summary  12/ 

ing  degradation  of  the  senate.  Scipio,  the  destroyer  of 
Carthage,  had  the  honor  of  stamping  out  this  rebellion, 
133  B.C. 

The  Romans  now  ruled  most  of  the  territory  along  the  Summary. 
Mediterranean  between  Mount  Taurus  and  the  Pillars  of 
Hercules.  They  had  seven  or  possibly  nine  provinces 1 
under  governors  sent  from  the  capital,  many  subject  states, 
and  many  allies  in  various  stages  of  dependency.  Less  than 
a  century  and  a  half  had  elapsed  since  Rome,  as  the  head 
of  Italy,  entered  on  her  career  of  foreign  conquest ;  outside 
of  Sicily,  Sardinia,  and  Corsica,  she  had  acquired  all  this 
power  in  a  lifetime.  Within  another  century  and  a  half, 
she  will  round  out  her  empire  so  as  to  include  all  the  coun- 
tries which  surround  the  Mediterranean.  But  these  two 
cycles  of  conquest  bring  with  them  momentous  changes  in 
the  character  of  her  government  and  in  the  condition  of 
her  citizens. 

Sources 

Polybius  i-v  and  considerable  fragments  of  the  other  books  ;  Livy  Reading. 
xvi-lix  (bks.  xxi-xlv  entire,  the  rest  in  an  epitome);  Appian,  foreign 
Wars,  v-xi  ;  Plutarch,  Fabius  Maximus ;  Marcellus ;  Flamininus ; 
JEmilizis  ;  Jl/.  Cato ;  Philopcemen ;  Nepos,  Hannibal;  Florus  ii  ; 
Diodorus  xxiii-xxxii  (brief  fragments);  Eutropius  ii.  iS-iv.  17;  Justin 
xxviii-xxxiv  ;    cf.  Botsford,  Story  0/ Rome,  ch.  v. 

Modern  Works 

Pelham,  Out/hies  of  Roman  History,  bk.  III.  chs.  i,  ii  ;  Shuckburgh, 
History  of  Rome,  chs.  xvii-xx,  xxii-xxv.  xxvii-xxxiii  ;    How  and   Leigh, 

1  Cisalpine  Gaul,  conquered  jn  191,  may  not  have  been  organized  as 
a  province  before  81  B.C.  Illyricum,  on  the  opposite  coast  of  the  Adri- 
atic, was  subdued  in  167  B.C.,  and  became  a  province  at  some  unknown 
time  afterward.  The  province  of  Asia  —  in  western  Asia  Minor  —  was 
formed  in  133  B.C.;  p.  130.  The  other  provinces,  already  mentioned 
in  the  text,  were  Sicily  and  Sardinia  with  Corsica  227  B.C.,  the  two 
Spains,  197  B.C.,  and  Africa  and  Macedonia,  146  B.C. 


128  Expansion  of  the  Roman  Power 

History  of  Rome,  chs.  xvii-xxvii  ;  Ihne,  History  of  Rome,  bks.  IV,  V 
(entire)  ;  Mommsen,  History  of  Rome,  bk.  III.  chs.  i-x  ;  Duruy,  His- 
tory of  Rome  (I,  II),  chs.  xix-xxxiii  ;  Arnold,  History  of  Rome,  III. 
chs.  xlii-xlvii  ;  Life  of  Hannibal ;  Smith  (R.  B.),  Rome  and  Carthage  ; 
Carthage  and  the  Carthaginians ;  Church,  Story  of  Carthage ;  How, 
Hannibal ;  Morris,  Hannibal  (Heroes);  Dodge,  Hannibal  (Great 
Captains) ;  Mason,  Struggle  for  Empire  (tutorial  series)  ;  Bossier, 
Roman  Africa,  chs.  i,  ii  ;  Hall,  The  Romans  on  the  Riviera  and  the 
Rhone,  chs.  ii-iv  ;  Long,  Decline  of  the  Roman  Republic,  I.  chs.  i-vii  ; 
Mahaffy,  Greek  Life  and  Thought  from  the  Age  of  Alexander  to  the 
Roman  Conquest;  The  Greek  World  under  Roman  Sway,  ch.  i  ;  Free- 
man, Federal  Government,  chs.  v-ix  (Greek  leagues);  Gardner,  New 
Chapters  in  Greek  History,  ch.  xv  (Greek  civilization  in  the  East). 


4 


Longitude  10 


For  Chapten  VII  -IX. 

For  Romp  Hec  Pago  3n 


Roman  Tower  in  133  B.  C. 
Acquired  133  B.  C-  14  A.  D. 
Allies  of  Rome,  14  A,  D. 


The 
of  a 
othe 


l" 


A  Street  in  Pompeii 

(Present  Appearance.) 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE   GROWTH   OF   PLUTOCRACY  (264-133  B.C.) 
Second  Period  of  the  Republic — Internal  History 

"  Yes  !   rather  than  be  poor, 
What  will  not  mortals  do,  what  not  endure  ?  — 

Such  dread  disgrace  to  shun, 
From  virtue's  toilsome  path  away  we  run." 

—  Horace,  Odes,  iii.  24. 


Rome  was  a  city-state,  whose  early  republican  constitu-  The  federal 

,,        ,  .  ..  .  T  .,  •  policy  of 

tion  was  well  adapted  to  a  small  community.      In  striking  Rome  in 

contrast  with  the  Greeks,  she  showed  an  admirable  liber-  Italy- 

ality   in  bestowing   the    citizenship  upon   strangers.      Of  P.  63  f. 

some  of   the    territory   acquired    in    Italy   by  war   or   by  Botsford, 

diplomacy  she    made    new   tribes,   whose    members   were  °feece- 

1  J  p.  178. 

full  citizens.     Other  communities   she   kept   in  half-sub- 
jection,—municipalities  without  the  right  of  suffrage, — 
k  129 


130 


Growth  of  Plutocracy 


The  imperial 
policy  of 
Rome  outside 
of  Italy. 

P.  103. 


227  B.C. 

Pp.  123,  126. 
197,  146  B.C. 
133  B.C. 

P.  86. 


Despotic  rule 
over  the  prov- 
inces. 


whose  people  were  within  the  state,  but  not  in  the  tribes. 
Still  others  were  allies,  who  permitted  Rome  to  manage 
their  foreign  relations  and  to  lead  them  in  war.  The 
supremacy  of  Rome  in  Italy  was  a  military  leadership  of 
a  group  of  states  bound  together  by  common  interests  and 
kindred  blood.  This  system  the  allies  did  not  consider 
wholly  unjust;  for  though  they  were  without  representation 
in  the  central  government,  and  were  therefore,  in  some 
degree,  subjects,  they  were  free  to  administer  their  local 
affairs,  and  the  meanest  of  them  hoped  gradually  to  obtain 
an  improvement  of  their  condition. 

When  the  Romans  acquired  their  first  territory  outside 
of  Italy,  they  departed  from  the  federal  policy  they  had 
hitherto  pursued,  and  instituted  in  its  place  the  province. 
This  word,  which  originally  signified  any  limited  sphere 
of  duty  or  of  authority,  came  to  be  applied  especially  to 
commands  outside  of  Italy,  and  thence  to  the  territory 
commanded.  Some  years  after  the  First  Punic  War  the 
Roman  senate  made  a  province  of  Sicily  and  another  of 
Sardinia  and  Corsica.  Later  it  added  Hither' and  Farther 
Spain,  Macedonia,  Africa,  and  Asia.  After  creating  four 
praetors  as  governors  of  provinces,  in  addition  to  the  two 
who  attended  to  jurisdiction  at  home,  it  filled  the  remain- 
ing governorships  with  proconsuls  and  propraetors.1 

The  senate  intended  to  hold  the  provincials  in  subjection 
forever.  Accordingly  it  freed  them  from  military  service, 
thus  depriving  them  of  the  spirit  and  the  means  of  resist- 
ance, and  imposed  upon  them  instead  a  yearly  tribute  — 
the  badge  and  the  burden  of   slavery.     The  annual  gov- 


1  A  proconsul  or  proprietor  was  an  officer  who  held  the  power  of  a 
consul  or  praetor  in  some  special  command  outside  of  Rome.  _  As 
a  rule  consuls  and  pnetors,  at  the  close  of  their  terms,  became  pro- 
consuls and  proprietors  ;  pp.  55,  139. 


The  Provinces  131 

ernor,  too,  was  absolute  master.     He  was  at  once  general, 
judge,  and  chief  executive;  through  his  quaestor1  he  con-   p.  82. 
trolled  the  finances  of  the  province.     His  will  was  restrained 
only  by  the  faint  fear  of  prosecution  on  his  return  to  Rome. 

Some  advantages  fell  to  the  provinces  from  Roman  rule.    Advantages 
First  of  all,  they  enjoyed  peace:  there  were  no  more  petty   °ule°r 
wars  between  the  small  communities;  there  was  rarely  a 
foreign    invasion;    and    the   deadly   evil   of    civil    discord 
ceased.     The  cities  of  a  province  retained  their  own  laws 
and  self-administration,  with  this  restriction  on  their  free-    p.  59. 
dom,  that  everywhere  the  wealthier  class  held  control.    The 
Sicilians  paid   Rome   no  more   tribute  than  their  former 
masters  had  levied;  some  other  provinces  rendered  even 
less.     To  most  of  the  subject  races  it  was  a  further  gain 
that  their  crude  ideas  of  justice  should  be  refined  by  the 
civil  law  of  Rome.     To  reduce  the  warring  nations  of  the 
Mediterranean  world    to   permanent   peace  under  a  well- 
ordered  system  of  administration  was  in  itself  a  noble  task. 

Under  these  circumstances  prosperity  and  content  ought  Evil  effects 
to  have  reigned  throughout  the  provinces.     Naturally  we   °ule°man 
are  disappointed  in  finding  their  true  condition  anything 
but  happy.    The  chief  cause  of  their  misery  was  economic; 
with  rare  exceptions  Rome  forbade  commercial  intercourse 
among  the  cities  of  a  province,  and  even  restricted  trade 
between  one  province  and  another.     By  impoverishing  all 
but  the  faVored  few,  this  policy  gradually  sapped  the  life- 
blood    of    the   wretched    subjects.     In    place    of    native   Rome  mo- 
merchants  a  horde  of  greedy  money-lenders,   speculators,    noP°llzes 

°  J  J  ,  wealth  of  the 

and  traders  poured  from  the  capital  over  all  the  provinces;   worid. 
and  while  their  citizenship  at  Rome  protected  their  lives  and 
their   ill-got  wealth,   by  their  monopoly  of   commerce,  by 

1  Generally  there  was  one  quoestor  in  charge  of  the  finances  of  each 
province,     Sicily,  however,  had  two. 


132  Growth  of  Plutocracy 

their  exactions  and  heavy  rates  of  interest,  they  acquired 
most  of  the  property  in  the  subject  countries  and  reduced 
the  people  to  debt  and  misery.  Such  speculations  trans- 
formed the  small  farms  tilled  by  their  owners  into  vast 
estates  worked  by  slaves,  whose  discontent  broke  out  in 
1  p"  343'  wars  that  threatened  the  existence  of   the  imperial  city. 

Besides,  the  system  which  Rome  followed  of  letting  out  the 
collection  of  taxes  to  contractors  was  full  of    evil.     The 
pp.  34,46, 69,   knights,  whose  wealth  enabled  them  to  take  these  contracts, 
I4°'  ground  the  provincials  by  their  enormous  exactions.    They, 

Matthew  v.      whom  the  Hebrews  justly  hated  as  "  publicans  and  sinners," 
46;  ix.  11.       assaiied  the  taxpayers  like  savage  beasts  leaping  upon  their 

prey. 
Oppression  of       Rarely  did  a  governor  try  to  repress  these  wrongs;  the 
the  provinces    attempt  would  only  have  roused  witnesses  against  his  own 

by  the  gov-  l  J  ° 

emor.  misdeeds.      As   he    received    no    salary  and    but  a    slight 

allowance  from  the  treasury  for  expenses,  it  was  necessary 
for  the  province  to  support  him,  together  with  his  family 
and  retinue,  during  his  term.  This  right  to  maintenance 
the  governor  made  a  pretext  for  the  most  cruel  and  oppres- 
sive extortion.     Not  content  with  the  wealth  of  his  people, 

P.  148.  a  rapacious  ruler  seized  their  works  of  art,  and  even  sold 

many  free  men  into  slavery.  The  rapid  rotation  of  com- 
manders increased  the  evil.  In  his  short  term  of  office  the 
governor  expected  to  make  three  fortunes :  the  first  to  pay 
the  debts  he  had  contracted  in  bribing  his  way  to  power; 
a  second  to  satisfy  his  judges  in  case  of  prosecution  on  his 
return  to  Rome;  and  a  third  to  enable  him  to  live  in  luxury 

Court  for  the   for  the  remainder  of  his  days.1     Though  a  special  court 

trial  of  extor-  wag  established  for  the  trial  of  extortion  committed  in  the 

tion,  149  B.C.  .  .  . 

provinces,  it  accomplished  no  good;  for  the  judges  were  of 

1  Naturally  we   find   exceptions  to   the   rule;    for   instance,   Cato  as 
governor  of  Sardinia  was  perfectly  honest  and  just;   p.  144. 


Italy  133 

like  mind  with  the  culprits.  Thieves  and  plunderers  sat  in 
judgment  on  thieves  and  plunderers;  a  year  or  two  would 
reverse  the  role  of  the  two  parties.  The  story  of  provincial 
oppression  is  horrible  enough  without  taking  into  account 
the  brutality  of  the  governor,  and  of  his  soldiers  quartered 
upon  a  people  who,  for  their  lives,  da'red  not  shield  the 
innocence  of  their  dearest  friends  and  relatives.  Before 
the  end  of  the  republic,  this  organized  and  protected  sys- 
tem of  plunder  and  misrule  had  wrought  throughout  the 
provinces  a  desolation  as  fearful  as  the  ravages  of  invading 
barbarians.  The  "  peace  of  Rome  "  meant  slavery,  decay, 
and  death. 

Italy  was  to  experience  a  similar  decline.     The  Italian    The  decline 
league,  under  the  headship  of  Rome,  was  the  strongest  and   °     a  y' 
most  thoroughly  centralized  political  system  the  world  had   Pp.  63  f,  130. 
yet  known.     The   network  of   military  roads  and  fortress   p.  63. 
colonies,  the  respect  felt  for  the  power  and  moderation  of 
the  leading  city,  and  the  common  sentiment  of  nationality, 
held  the  race  of  Italians  together  as  an  organic  unit.     The 
war  with  Hannibal  they  felt  to  be  a  struggle  for  the  defence 
of  home  and  country  against  an  alien  invader.     Neither  the 
terror  of  his  devastations  nor  the  slaughter  at  Trasimene,    P.  109. 
"when  all  around  was  consuming  in  the  flames,  of   war, 
could   shake   the    fidelity  of    the  allies,    for   this   evident   Livy xxii.  13 ; 
reason,  that  they  lived  under  a  temperate  and  mild  gov-   cf-Polybuis 
eminent;  mor  were  they  unwilling  to  submit  to  those  who 
were  superior  to  them,  which  is  the  only  bond  of  fidelity." 
When,   however,    Rome    reconquered    the    many  southern 
Italians  who  had  deserted  to  the  enemy  after  the  battle  of    P.  m. 
Cannae,   she  treated  them,  not  as  erring  kinsmen,  but  as 
subjects  and  slaves.     She  confiscated  large  tracts  of  their 
lands;  she  degraded   the    Bruttians   and   the   Campanians 
from  the  condition  of  allies  to""  that  of  state  serfs. 


134  Growth  of  Plutocracy 

Economic  Economic  causes  told  even  more  ruinously  upon  Italy. 

rum  of  Italy.  Restrictjons  on  trade  —  nearly  the  same  as  those  which 
prevailed  in  the  provinces  —  stifled  the  life  of  the  whole 
peninsula.  The  great  commercial  cities  of  Capua  and 
Tarentum  disappeared;  in  the  streets  of  the  once  pros- 
perous Greek  towns  which  still  remained,  merchants  gave 

P.  124.  place  to  beggars.     The  Roman  monopolists  who  destroyed 

Corinth  and  Carthage  brooked  no  competition  nearer 
home.  The  farming  class  suffered  equally  with  the  traders; 
for  as  Rome  now  drew  her  food  supply  from  the  provinces, 
—  cheap  produce  of  slave  labor, — the  Italian  peasants 
could  find  no  market  for  their  grain.  Driven  from  their 
farms  by  Hannibal,  thousands  of  them  returned  no  more, 
and  thousands  of  others  were  ejected  by  the  confiscations 
of  Rome.  The  system  of  great  estates  worked  by  slaves 
spread  itself  over  Italy.  The  large  proprietors  forcibly 
seized  the  farms  of    their   poor   neighbors.       "Thus   the 

Appian, CtwV  nobles  became   enormously  rich,    and  while    the  race  of 

Wars, 1.7.  siaves  multiplied  throughout  the  country,  the  Italians 
dwindled  in  numbers  and  in  strength,  oppressed  by 
penury,  taxes,  and  military  service."  "The  wild  beasts 
of  Italy  have  their  dens  and  holes  and  hiding-places, 
while  the  men  who  fight  and  die  in  defence  of  Italy 
enjoy,   indeed,   the  air  and  the   light,   but  nothing  else; 

Tiberius  houseless  and  without  a  spot  of  ground  to  rest  upon,  they 

Gracchus,        wander  about  with  their  wives  and  children,  while  their 

quoted  by  .,,..,.  ,  ,  ,      .  , 

Plutarch,         commanders,  with  a  he  in  their  mouths,  exhort  their  sol- 

Tiberius  diers  to  defend  their  tombs  and  temples  against  the  enemy; 

us'9'     for  out  of  so  many  Romans  not  one  has  a  family  altar  or 

ancestral  tomb,  but  they  fight  to  maintain  the  wealth  and 

luxury  of  others,  and  they  die  with  the  title  of  'lords  of 

the  earth,'  without  possessing  a  single  clod  to  call  their 

133  b.c.  own."     Such  was  the  condition   of   Italy  at  the  close  of 


Representation  1 3  5 

the  great  period  of  foreign  conquest  treated  in  the  preceding 
chapter. 

Had  the  Italians  been  able  to  secure  representation  in   Representa- 
the  Roman  senate,   they  might  by  this  means  have  pro-   ^te^g 
tected  their  property  and  their  freedom.     Such  a  reform, 
by  broadening  the  basis  of  the  state  from  the  city  of  Rome 
to  the  great  country  of  Italy,  would  probably  have  saved 
both  city  and  country  from  the  hundred  years  of  revolution 
and  the  military  despotism  which  were  to  come.     And  the 
Romans  were  not  ignorant  of  the  idea;  for  after  the  battle 
of  Cannse,  Spurius  Carvilius  proposed  that  two  representa-   216  b.c. 
tives  should  be  admitted  to  the  senate  from  every  Latin 
colony,  —  a   measure  which  would  have  been  a  decisive 
move  in  the  right  direction.     But  the  senate  was  too  selfish 
and  too  short-sighted  to  consider  the  proposition.    "  A  loud 
and  violent  expression  of  disapproval  ran  through  the  whole 
house."     A  member  threatened  to  kill  with  his  own  hand 
any  Latin  senator  who  dared  intrude.     "Thereupon  Quin-   Livy xxiii. 23. 
tus  Fabius  Maximus  said  that  never  was  a  subject  intro-    „r 

Cf.  p.  52. 

duced  into  the  senate  at  a  more  unseasonable  time,  .  .  . 
that  the  proposal  above  all  others  deserved  to  be  covered 
and  consigned  to  darkness  and  oblivion,  and  looked  upon 
as  if  it  had  never  been  made.  This  put  a  stop  to  the  men- 
tion of  the  subject."  The  Romans  were  reversing  their  P. 21. 
former  policy  of  liberality  toward  strangers.  So  highly  did 
they  esteem  the  privileges  and  the  honors  they  enjoyed  as 
an  imperial  people,  that  henceforth  they  refused  to  bestow 
the  citizenship  upon  others  except  in  the  rarest  cases. 
Exalted  by  conquest  to  the  position  of  aristocrats,  even  the  p-  9°- 
common  people  looked  down  upon  the  Italians  as  inferiors. 

According  to  the  terms  of  the  constitution  as  amended   The  people. 

xy     00 

by   Hortensius,    the    Roman    people    possessed    absolute     "     • 

J  '  r       r  t.  Polybius  VI. 

equality  of  rights;   and  whether  they  voted  by  tribes  or   ze. 


1 36  Groivth  of  Plutocracy 

241  (?)  b.c.      by  centuries,  they  were  sovereign.     After  the  First  Punic 

P*.  69.  War  the  censors  so  reformed  the  assembly  of  centuries  as 

P-  75-  to  give  the  poor  the  same  number  of  votes  as  the  rich,  thus 

making  it  as  democratic  in  form  as  the  tribal  meeting  had 
been  from  the  beginning. 

The  equality  and  the  sovereignty  of  the  people,  however, 
were  empty  forms.  In  fact  the  assembly  was  composed 
of  those  who  lived  in  and  near  the  city,  as  distance  pre- 
vented most  of  the  citizens  from  attending.      Hence  the 

P.  M9-  city  population,  which  was  fast  becoming  a  rabble,  alone 

exercised    the   right   to   vote.      Again,    a    member   of    an 

i'-  71-  assembly  could    not   propose    a   law  or   a   candidate    for 

office,  or  speak  on  any  subject;  he  could  merely  vote  for 
or  against  the  candidates  and  the  measures  offered  by  the 

Themagis-  presiding  officer,  who  rarely  failed  to  enforce  his  will 
upon  the  comitia.  To  Polybius,  the  historian,  who  lived 
in  this  period,  the  higher  magistrates  seemed  like  kings. 
"The  consuls,  before  leading  out  the  legions,  remain  in 
Rome  and  are  supreme  masters  of  the  administration. 
All  other  magistrates,  except  the  tribunes,  are  under  them 

Polybius vi.  and  take  their  orders.  They  introduce  foreign  ambas- 
sadors to  the  senate;  bring  matters  requiring  deliberation 
before  it;  and  see  to  the  execution  of  its  decrees.  If, 
again,  there  are  matters  of  state  which  require  the  authori- 
zation of  the  people,  it  is  their  business  to  see  to  them, 
to  summon  the  popular  meetings,  to  bring  the  proposals 
before  them,  and  to  carry  out  the  decrees  of  the  majority. 
In  the  preparation  for  war,  also,  and  in  a  word,  in  the 
entire  administration  of  a  campaign,  they  have  all  but 
absolute  power.  It  is  within  their  competence  to  impose 
on  the  allies  such  levies  as  they  think  good,  to  appoint 
the  military  tribunes,  to  make  up  the  roll  of  soldiers  and 
select  those  that  are  suitable.     Besides,   they  have  abso- 


[2 


The  Senate  157 

lute  power  of  inflicting  punishment  on  all  who  are  under  P.  67. 
their  command  while  in  active  service;  and  they  have 
authority  to  expend  as  much  of  the  public  money  as  they 
choose,  being  accompanied  by  a  quaestor  who  is  entirely  P.  131. 
at  their  orders.  A  survey  of  these  powers  would  in  fact 
justify  our  describing  the  constitution  as  despotic, — a 
clear  case  of  royal  government." 

Polybius,   however,  was  not  deceived   by  appearances,    The  senate, 
for  he  knew  that  the  consuls  were  in  fact,  though  not  in 
theory,    subject    to   the    senate, — the   real   master   of   the 
state.     "The  senate    has  first  of  all  control  of  the  treas- 
ury,  and  regulates  the  receipts  and   disbursements  alike. 
For  the  quaestors  cannot  issue  any  public  money  for  the    Polybius  vi, 
various  departments  of  the  state  without  a  decree  of  the    I3' 
senate,  except  for  the  service  of  the  consuls.1     The  senate 
controls  also  what  is  by  far  the  largest  and  most  impor- 
tant expenditure   [in  time  of  peace],  that  made  by  the   P.  81. 
censors  in  every  term  of  their  office  for  the  repair  or  con- 
struction   of    public    buildings;    this    money   cannot  be 
obtained  by  the  censors  except  by  the  grant  of  the  senate. 
Similarly  all  crimes  committed  in  Italy  requiring  a  pub- 
lic investigation,  such  as  treason,  conspiracy,  poisoning, 
or  wilful  murder,  are  in  the  hands  of  the  senate.     Besides, 
if  any  individual  or  state  among  the  Italian  allies  requires 
a  controversy  to  be  settled,  a  penalty  to  be  assessed,  help 
or  protection  to  be  afforded, — all  this  is  the  province  of 
the  senate.     Or  again,  outside  Italy,  if  it  is  necessary  to 
send  an  embassy  to  reconcile  warring  communities,  or  to 
remind  them  of  their  duty,  or  sometimes  to  impose  requi- 
sitions  upon   them,   or  to   receive    their    submission,   or 
finally  to  proclaim  war   against   them, — this   too    is  the 

1  In  fact  we  find   the  senate    often  restricting   the   expenses  even 
of  the  consuls. 


138 


Growth  of  Plutocracy 


The  curule 
ex-magis- 
trates have 
control. 

P.  67,  n.  1. 


Decline  of 
the  nobility. 


Ihne,  Rome, 
iv.  p.  65. 


P.  122. 


business  of  the  senate.  In  like  manner  the  reception  given 
to  foreign  ambassadors  at  Rome,  and  the  answers  to  be 
returned  to  them,  are  decided  by  the  senate.  With  such 
business  the  people  have  nothing  to  do.  Consequently,  if 
one  were  staying  at  Rome,  when  the  consuls  were  not  in 
town,  one  would  imagine  the  constitution  to  be  a  complete 
aristocracy;  and  this  has  been  the  idea  entertained  by 
many  Greeks,  and  by  many  kings  as  well,  from  the  fact 
that  nearly  all  the  business  they  had  with  Rome  was  settled 
with  the  senate." 

The  senators  were  not  all  equal;  for  those  who  had  held 
no  curule  office  were  placed  by  the  censors  in  an  inferior 
class,  and  were  called  upon  to  vote  though  not  to  speak. 
The  curule  ex-magistrates,  on  the  other  hand,  were  grouped 
in  higher  classes  according  to  the  offices  they  had  filled, 
and  were  at  liberty  not  only  to  vote,  but  also  to  debate  and 
to  suggest  measures.  This  knot  of  ex-magistrates  controlled 
the  entire  senate  and,  through  it,  Rome,  Italy,  and  the 
provinces.  It  seemed  just  that  experienced  statesmen 
should  have  more  authority  than  the  assembly  of  plain 
citizens,  who  knew  nothing  of  the  condition  of  the  world 
beyond  the  borders  of  their  own  little  neighborhood. 

The  circle  to  which  these  ex-magistrates  belonged 
formed,  in  the  beginning,  a  nobility  of  merit.  It  unified 
Italy;  it  saved  the  state  from  Hannibal;  it  conquered  and 
organized  the  Mediterranean  world.  "The  Roman  senate 
was  a  political  organism  of  the  highest  perfection,  such  as 
no  other  state  in  antiquity  ever  created  or  was  qualified  to 
create."  But  from  the  end  of  the  Second  Punic  War  we 
see  the  nobles  rapidly  declining  in  character  and  in  ability. 
They  formed  a  closed  hereditary  caste,  consisting  of  a  few 
great  houses,  and  rarely  admitted  new  men  to  their  privi- 
leged circle;  they  hated  as  an  intruder  any  commoner  who, 


The  Nobility 


139 


The  career  of 
honors  (of- 
fices). 
P.  131. 


P.  86. 


through  popular  favor,  forced  his  way  into  office  against 
their  will.     By  their  control  of   the  entire  religious  and 
political  machinery  of  government,  they  monopolized  the 
offices     at    home     and 
in   the    provinces,    and 
passed  them  in  rotation 
among  the  members  of 
their  families. 

A  young  noble,  after 
service  as  an  officer  in 
the  army,  and  perhaps 
after  enriching  himself 
as  a  provincial  quaestor, 
secured  election  to  a 
curule  aedileship.  In 
this  position  it  was  his 
duty  to  entertain  the 
people  with  costly  relig- 
ious festivals  and  shows, 
chiefly  at  his  own  ex- 
pense; in  this  way  he 
gained  their  favor  and 
theirvotes  for  the  higher 
offices.  With  this  legal 
and  pious  system  of  cor- 
ruption, he  had  little 
need  of  resorting  to 
open  bribery.  Thence 
he     advanced     to     the 

praetorship  and  to  the  consulship.     As  praetor,  propraetor,    P.  13°- 
or  proconsul,  he  governed  a  province,  where  he  glutted 
himself    with    spoil    and    acquired    the    haughtiness    and 
the  brutality  of  an  unbridled  king.      If  he  won  distinc- 


vEdile 

(Giving  the  Signal  at  the  Games.) 


140 


Growth  of  Plutocracy 


Plutocracy. 

The  knights. 
P.  69. 

P.  46. 


Opposition  to 
the  rule  of 
the  nobles. 
P.  98. 


P.  130- 


P.  88. 


Polybius  ii. 
21. 

Pp.  105, 126. 

223  B.C. 


tion  in  this  "career  of  honors,"  the  people  showed  their 
appreciation  by  electing  him  to  the  censorship — the 
crown  of  glory  of  the  nobility.  To  complete  our  under- 
standing of  the  nobles  of  this  period,  it  is  necessary  to  bear 
in  mind  that  they  were  capitalists,  who  sought  office  not 
merely  for  honor,  but  also  as  a  means  of  absorbing  the 
riches  of  the  world.  The  nobility  of  merit  became  a 
narrow,  self-seeking  plutocracy. 

The  nobles  and  other  wealthy  men  to  the  number  of 
eighteen  hundred  filled  the  centuries  of  knights  in  the 
comitia  centuriata.  Still  other  men  of  means  who  might 
be  required  to  furnish  their  own  horses  for  service  in  the 
cavalry  were  also  called  knights.  The  class  so  named, 
originally  including  the  senators,  were  the  capitalists, 
who  took  government  contracts  for  collecting  taxes  and 
for  building  public  works,  and  who  had  in  their  hands 
most  of  the  commerce  and  industry  of  the  Roman  world. 

Early  in  the  period  the  selfish  policy  of  the  senate  pro- 
voked opposition.  The  people,  who  had  carried  on  the 
first  war  with  Carthage  in  the  hope  of  receiving  lands  in 
Sicily,  were  disappointed  to  find  the  nobles  retaining  the 
whole  island  as  their  own  estate.  Under  these  circum- 
stances a  man  of  the  people,  Gaius  Flaminius,  tribune  in 
232  B.C.,  proposed  to  the  assembly  a  law  for  dividing  the 
public  lands  in  Picenum  among  the  citizens.  By  insisting 
on  his  constitutional  right  to  offer  the  measure  without  the 
consent  of  the  senate,  he  threatened  to  destroy  the  power 
of  the  nobility.  For  this  reason  the  historian  calls  his  pro- 
posal "the  first  step  in  the  demoralization  of  the  people." 
The  citizens  gladly  ratified  his  measure,  however,  and 
when,  a  few  years  later,  war  broke  out  with  the  Gauls  of 
the  Po  valley,  they  elected  him  consul,  that  he  might  win 
more  lands  for  them.     He  extended  the  rule  of  Rome  to 


The  Opposition  141 

the  Alps,  and  as  censor  built  a  road,  named  after  him  the  220  b.c. 
Flaminian  Way,  from  the  capital  to  Ariminum,  to  give  easy 
access  to  the  new  territory.  The  people  were  colonizing 
this  country  when  the  invasion  of  Hannibal  interrupted 
their  work.  Their  first  feeling  was  that  the  senate,  which 
had  kept  all  Sicily  and  Sardinia  for  itself,  was  now  betray- 
ing to  the  enemy  their  interests  in  northern  Italy.  They 
would  have  their  revenge. 

Encouraged  by  Flaminius,  their  tribune  Quintus  Clau-   Separation  of 
dius  passed  a  law  which   forbade    senators   from   owning  f^^e  °' 
merchant  ships,' — in  other  words,  from  engaging  in  com-   knights, 
merce,  —  probably,  too,  from  taking  state  contracts.     The   Liw  xxi.  63. 
object  was  to  prevent  the  senators  from  using  the  govern- 
ment as  their  money-making  instrument.    Many  of  them  con- 
tinued to  trade  and  to  speculate,  as  before,  but  they  now  did 
it  secretly,  in  violation  of  law.    The  Claudian  measure  was 
the  first  step  toward  separating  the  senators  from  the  knights   p.  156. 
—  the  governing  aristocracy  from  the  commercial  class. 

While   the   people  were  voting  this  law,   Hannibal  was  Failure  of  the 
seizing  their  possessions  in  the  Po  valley.     Naturally  their  0pp0S1  10n- 
thoughts  turned  once  more  to  Flaminius,  their  champion. 
Elected  consul  for  217  B.C.,  he  took  command  against  the 
invader,  but  was  defeated  and  killed  at  Trasimene.     Rome    P.  108  f. 
lost   in  him  an  able  statesman  and  a  great  builder;  and 
though  the  aristocrats  through  jealousy  and  hatred  called 
him  a  demagogue,  his  character  and  motives  were  nobler 
than  theirs.     As  leader  of  the  people  in  opposition  to  the 
senate,  he  was  succeeded  by  Varro,  a  business  man,  whose 
defeat  at  Cannae  ruined  himself  and  his  party.     For  nearly   216  b.c. 
a  century  after  that  time  there  was  no  open  opposition  to   p.  no. 
the  senate;  but  through  the  years  of  silence  the  pent-up   216-133  b.c. 
fires  of  discontent  were  gathering  strength  for  an  explosion   P.  154. 
which  was  to  shatter  the  aristocracy. 


142 


GrotvtJi  of  Plutocracy 


Publius 

Scipio 

Africanus. 

P.  113  ff. 


He  behaves 
like  a  king. 
Cf.  p.  139. 


After  Flaminius  and  Varro,  the  only  political  strife  was 
that  between  nobles  for  the  possession  of  office.     The  con- 
quest of  Spain  and  the  victory  at  Zama  made  Scipio  Afri- 
canus  the   greatest   man   in 
iigflfff  Rome.      No   citizen  before 

him  had  ever  reached  such 
a  height  of  fortune  and 
power.  For  fifteen  years  he 
was  foreman  of  the  senate; 
he  was  consul  twice,  and 
censor.  From  the  end  of 
the  war  with  Hannibal  he 
contended  with  all  his  might 
against  the  provincial  system ; 
for  he  saw  that  the  necessity 
of  garrisoning  the  provinces 
would  soon  exhaust  the 
strength  of  Italy.1  In  keep- 
ing with  this  principle  he 
planted  several  colonies  in 
Italy,  whose  military  strength 
was  to  be  reserved  for  the 
defence  of  the  peninsula. 
Thus  the  chief  of  the  aristo- 
crats continued  the  colonial 
policy  of  Flaminius. 
But  he  had  many  enemies.  Accustomed  to  absolute 
command  in  the  field,  at  Rome  he  displayed  the  character 
of  a  king.     He  used  "his  immense  influence  for  the  politi- 

1  Accordingly  he  left  Carthage  and  the  Spanish  tribes  self-governing 
under  the  protectorate  of  Rome  ;  and  his  brother  Lucius  applied  the 
same  principle  to  Greece  and  to  Asia  Minor  after  the  war  with  An- 
tiochus.  Cato,  his  opponent,  however,  undid  the  work  in  Spain,  and 
hounded  on  the  Romans  to  the  destruction  of  Carthage  ;  pp.  123,  146. 


■•  Publius  Cornelius  Scipio 
Africanus" 

(National  Museum,  Naples.) 


Scipio  Africanus  143 

cal  advancement  of  his  family,  and  trampled  upon  the  law 
to  protect  a  brother  from  trial  for  embezzlement.  Finally 
the  tribunes  of  the  people  prosecuted  him  for  receiving 
bribes,  for  extravagance  and  tyranny  in  his  military  com- 
mands, for  impressing  foreign  nations  with  the  idea  "that 
he  alone  was  the  head  and  pillar  of  the  Roman  empire;  Livy xxxviii. 
that  a  state  which  was  mistress  of  the  world  lay  sheltered  S1, 
under  the  shade  of  Scipio;  that  his  nods  were  equivalent  to 
decrees  of  the  senate  and  orders  of  the  people."  Without 
replying  to  the  charges,  he  is  said  to  have  spoken  as  fol- 
lows: "Tribunes  of  the  people,  and  you,  Romans,  on  the 
anniversary  of  this  day  I  fought  a  pitched  battle  in  Africa, 
with  Hannibal  and  the  Carthaginians,  with  good  fortune 
and  success.  As,  therefore,  it  is  but  decent  that  a  stop  be 
put  for  this  day  to  wrangling  and  litigation,  I  will  imme- 
diately go  to  the  Capitol,  there  to  return  my  acknowledg- 
ments to  Jupiter,  supremely  good  and  great,  to  Juno, 
Minerva,  and  the  other  deities  presiding  over  the  Capitol 
and  citadel;  and  will  give  them  thanks  for  having,  on  this 
day  and  at. many  other  times,  endowed  me  both  with  the 
will  and  with  the  ability  to  perform  extraordinary  services 
to  the  state.  Such  of  you  also,  Romans,  as  it  suits,  come 
with  me  and  beseech  the  gods  that  you  may  have  com- 
manders like  myself."  The  whole  assembly  followed  him 
with  enthusiasm.  But  though  he  was  a  man  of  culture, 
fond  of  literature  and  of  luxury,  his  talents  were  chiefly 
military.  Unable  to  cope  with  his  political  enemies,  he 
retired  into  the  country  to  private  life.  He  was  the  first  Pp.  113, 115. 
man  whose  great  personality  had  endangered  the  republic. 

Marcus  Porcius  Cato,  his  chief  antagonist,  was  a  narrow,    Marcius  Por- 
unsympathetic,  close-fisted,  egotistic  moralist  —  a  survival    "us   at0'    e 
of  the  older  Roman  virtue.     He  was  a  peasant  by  birth,    P.  123. 
and  drew  the  inspiration  of  his  life  from  the  memories  of 


i44 


Growth  of  Plutocracy 


p.  92. 


Plutarch, 
M.  <  \]t«,  3. 


Cato,  On  Ag- 
riculture ;  cf. 
Mommsen, 
Rome,  bk.  iii. 

ch.  xii. 


P.  342. 

Plutarch, 
M.  Cato,  a,,  21. 


His  govern- 
ment of  Sar- 
dinia. 


Pp.  104,  132. 


Plutarch, 

M.  (  afo,  6. 


Manius  Curius  Dentatus,  the  great  peasant-statesman  of 
the  good  old  time,  whose  modest  cottage  stood  near  his 
father's  farm.  Accordingly  "he  worked  with  his  slaves, 
in  winter  wearing  a  coarse  coat  without  sleeves,  in  summer 
nothing  but  his  tunic;  and  he  used  to  sit  at  meals  with 
them,  eating  the  same  loaf  and  drinking  the  same  wine." 
In  a  sort  of  farmer's  diary  he  gives  practical  hints  on 
agriculture:  for  instance,  "he  is  a  bad  farmer  who  buys 
what  he  can  raise  on  his  own  land;  a  bad  father  of  a  house- 
hold who  takes  in  hand  by  day  what  can  be  done  by  candle- 
light, unless  the  weather  be  bad;  a  still  worse,  who  does  on 
a  work-day  what  might  be  done  on  a  holiday."  It  is  wise, 
he  taught,  to  buy  young,  strong  slaves  and  sell  them  when 
they  grow  too  old  to  work.  A  slave  must  either  work  or 
sleep;  he  must  have  no  time  for  mischief  and  must  not  be 
on  too  good  terms  with  his  fellows.  This  stinginess  and 
inhumanity  followed  Cato  through  his  entire  life. 

Ability  and  honesty  raised  this  thrifty  peasant  to  the  high- 
est offices.  "When  he  was  governor  of  Sardinia,  where 
former  rulers  had  been  in  the  habit  of  charging  their  tents, 
bedding,  and  wearing  apparel  to  the  province,  and  likewise 
making  it  pay  large  sums  for  their  entertainment  and  that 
of  their  friends,  he  introduced  an  unheard-of  system  of 
economy.  He  charged  nothing  to  the  province,  and  vis- 
ited the  various  cities  without  a  carriage,  on  foot  and 
alone,  attended  by  one  public  servant,  who  carried  his 
robe  of  state  and  the  vessel  for  making  libations  at  a  sacri- 
fice. With  all  this  he  showed  himself  so  affable  and  simple 
to  those  under  his  rule,  so  severe  and  inexorable  in  the 
administration  of  justice,  and  so  vigilant  and  careful  in 
seeing  that  his  orders  were  executed,  that  the  government 
of  Rome  was  never  more  feared  or  more  loved  in  Sardinia 
than  when  he  ruled  that  island." 


Cato 


145 


ship. 
P.  143. 


Notwithstanding  this  justice  toward  the  dependents  of 
Rome,    he  despised    them,    and    in   opposition   to   Scipio 
Africanus,  did  all  he  could  to  reduce  the  allied  states  to 
provinces.     In  his  home  policy  he  assailed  with  untiring 
energy  the  luxury,  the  refinement,  and  the  culture  represented    Cis  censor- 
by  the  Scipios;  it  was  chiefly  his  influence  which  overthrew 
this     powerful 
family.  The  no- 
bles feared  and 
hated  the  red- 
haired,      gray- 
eyed,     savage- 
tusked      "new 
man,"  who  re- 
buked their  fol- 
lies and    their 
sins.      Chosen 
censor  in  spite 
of  their  oppo- 
sition,  he   ex- 
pelled from  the 
senate  a  num- 
ber of  disrepu- 
table members, 
taxed    luxuries 
unmercifully, 
administered 

the  public  works  and  let  out  the  public  contracts  without 
favoritism.  The  people,  therefore,  placed  his  statue  in  the 
Temple  of  Health,  with  this  inscription,  "This  statue  was 
erected  to  Cato  because,  when  censor,  finding  the  state  of 
Rome  corrupt  and  degenerate,  he,  by  introducing  wise  regu- 
lations and  virtuous  discipline,  restored  it."     The  praise 


Livy  xxxix. 
41  ff. 


Sacrificing  a  Pig 

(National  Museum,  Naples.) 


Plutarch,   M. 
Cato,  16  ff. 


146 


Growth  of  Plutocracy 


p.  124. 


The  begin- 
nings of 
Roman  liter- 
ature. 


254-184  (?) 
B.C. 


Died  159  B.C. 


The  begin- 
nings of  his- 
tory. 

P.  17. 


Dionysius  i. 
79- 


is  too  great.  No  statesman  of  his  time  fathomed  the  depth 
of  the  evil,  much  less  discovered  a  remedy  for  it.  When  in 
149  B.C.,  after  persuading  the  Romans  to  destroy  Carthage, 
Cato  died  at  an  advanced  age,  the  flood-gates  of  corruption 
were  still  wide  open. 

Cato  was  the  strongest  character  in  the  literature  as  well 
as  in  the  politics  of  his  age.  The  practical  Romans  aimed 
not  at  the  beautiful,  but  at  the  useful  in  letters,  and  devoted 
themselves,  therefore,  especially  to  history,  oratory,  and  the 
science  of  law.  The  first  native  Italian  to  apply  himself 
earnestly  to  literature  was  Naevius,  a  soldier  of  the  First 
Punic  War,  who  composed  in  verse  a  history  of  the  conflict 
in  which  he  bore  a  part.  Ennius  of  Calabria,  introduced 
to  Roman  society  by  Cato,  wrote  a  metrical  history  of 
Rome.  The  works  of  these  two  poets  doubtless  furnished 
much  material  to  the  historians.  Though  Naevius  adhered 
to  the  native  form  of  verse,  Ennius  adopted  the  Greek 
heroic  measure.  This  increasing  influence  of  Greece  is 
seen  in  an  older  contemporary  of  Ennius,  —  Plautus,  who 
translated  Greek  comedies  into  Latin,  adding  touches  of 
Roman  character  and  enlivening  the  original  with  his  fresh 
wit.  His  plays  afford  an  occasional  glimpse  of  Roman  life. 
Terence,  a  slave  from  Carthage,  who  lived  later  than  Plau- 
tus, was  more  elegant,  more  Greek,  than  his  predecessor, 
though  less  lively  and  creative.  His  comedies  furnish  little 
material  for  a  study  of  the  times. 

Serious  history,  in  contrast  to  the  verses  of  Naevius  and 
Ennius,  began  with  Fabius  Pictor,  a  senator  and  an  officer 
in  the  war  with  Hannibal.  He  wrote  in  Greek,  the  literary 
language  of  the  age,  a  history  of  Rome  from  .Eneas  to  his 
own  day.  In  the  earlier  part  of  his  work,  while  depending 
chiefly  upon  the  meagre  chronicle  which  the  pontiffs  had 
kept  from  near  the  beginning  of  the  republic,  he  inserted 


History  147 

many  myths,  invented  mostly  by  the  Greeks.  In  his  treat- 
ment of  his  own  age  he  followed  reliable  sources,  but  Poiybius  i. 
showed  extreme  partiality  to  Rome.  His  work  was  called  x4  f- 
the  Annals,  because  he  grouped  events  by  years  rather  than 
by  topics.  It  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  that  as  the  con- 
temporary writing  of  history  begins  with  the  Punic  Wars, 
we  have  from  that  time  a  narrative  both  detailed  and  fairly 
accurate,  whereas  the  earlier  period  abounds  in  myths  and 
other  fictions. 

After  Fabius,  several  persons  wrote  Roman  histories  in   Poiybius. 
Greek,  among  them  Poiybius,  a  statesman  of  the  Achaean 
League.     He  came  to  Rome  as  a  hostage,  lived  there  under 
the  patronage  of  /Emilius  Paulus,  the  victor  of  Pydna,  and   P.  121. 
taught  the  son  who  was  afterward  to  be  known  as  Scipio    Pp' I24,  *49, 
yEmilianus.     Poiybius  wrote  a  detailed  account  of  the  ex- 
pansion of  the  Roman  power.     In  preparing  this  work  he    Poiybius  i.  1, 
examined   documents,  travelled    about    to   learn   the   geog-    4;  m-7.3i. 

33.  37.  47.  59- 

raphy,  climate,  and  products  of   the  countries  he  treated, 
and    especially   attended    to    the    causes,    connection,    and 
effects  of  events ;  in    a  word,  he   set  a  good  example  of 
studying   history  by  the  methods  approved  at  the  present 
day.     Cato  was  the  first  to  compose  a  history  of  Rome  and   Cato, 
Italy  —  the   Origins  —  in  Latin  prose;  and  it  is  chiefly  for      riglin- 
this  reason  that  he  is  considered  the  founder  of  Latin  prose 
literature.      "  He  tells  us  that  he  himself  wrote  books  on 
history  with  his  own  hand  in  large  letters,  that  his  boy  might    Plutarch, 
start  in  life  with  a  useful  knowledge  of  what  his  forefathers 
had  done." 

An  orator,  too,  of  remarkable  force,  Cato  inserted  many   Oratory, 
specimens  of  his   eloquence    in    his    history,  and   wrote  a 
manual  on  the  subject  of  speaking.     "  The  Romans  were 

...  -ii  1     •      1  Teuffel, 

well  qualified  for  oratory  by  their  acute  intellect,  their  love   RomanLiier. 
of  order,  and  their  Italian  vivacity  tempered  with  Roman   ature,  i.  p. 64. 


148 


Groxvth  of  Plutocracy 


gravity."  Constant  practice  at  the  funerals  of  kinsmen,  in 
the  law-courts,  in  the  assemblies,  and  in  the  senate,  had 
already  in  the  age  of  Cato  produced  a  number  of  able 
speakers.  It  was  not  till  the  following  period,  however, 
that  their  oratory,  under  Greek  influence,  reached  its 
highest  stage  of  perfection. 
Architecture.  In  art  the  Romans  of  the  period  accomplished  far  less 
than  in  literature,  though  their  useful  public  works,  as 
sewers,  bridges,  roads,  and  aqueducts,  were  unrivalled. 
Cato,  when  censor,  built  by  the  senate-house  the  Basilica 
Porcia,  a  hall  to  be  used  as  a  law-court  and  place  of  busi- 
ness. Others  followed  his  example  in  the  erection  of  basili- 
cas near  the  Forum.  Countless  temples  rose  throughout 
the  city,  but  most  of  them,  of  modest  cost  and  size,  soon 
fell  to  ruin  through  neglect.  On  the  other  hand,  the  nobles 
began  to  build  large  expensive  residences,  while  the  people 
lived  in  huts,  as  formerly,  or  swarmed  together  in  tenements. 
The  narrow  streets,  obstructed  in  many  places  by  shrines 
and  statues,  were  densely  crowded  in  the  business  quarters 
during  the  day  ;  and  the  few  police  could  not  prevent  thieves 
from  prowling  at  night  in  the  darkness  unrelieved  by  lamps. 

At  this  time  Rome  had  hardly  made  a  beginning  of  sculp- 
ture, and  had  achieved  little  more  in  painting,  but  preferred 
to  import  ship-loads  of  art  as  plunder  from  the  cities  of 
Sicily  and  of  Greece.  Without  appreciation  of  real  beauty, 
the  nobles  took  pleasure  in  adorning  their  houses  and  villas 
with  stolen  statues. 

Along  with  foreign  art  came  the  ideas,  the  religion,  and 
the  morals  of  strangers.  They  began  to  worship  the  Greek 
Dionysus,  or  Bacchus,  god  of  the  vine  and  of  life,  including 
future  life,  and  the  Phrygian  Cybele,  Mother  of  the  Gods, 
whom  noisy  processions  honored  in  the  streets  with  drums, 
trumpets,  and  cymbals,  with  war  dances  and  bloody  tumults. 


Stolen  art. 


I'|).  123,  132. 


Foreign  re- 
ligions. 


91. 


Morals 


149 


Thus  men  and  women  passed  from  sobriety  to  fanaticism. 
Unsatisfied  with  the  empty  rituals  of  their  own  religion,  they  P.  29. 
embraced  these  Oriental  worships  which  stirred  their  souls 
with  the  ecstasy  of  joy  or  the  enthusiasm  of  hope.  Rumors 
of  secret  meetings  and  of  conspiracies  excited  the  senate  to 
persecute  the  followers  of  Bacchus  with  such  frenzy  as  our 
forefathers  showed  in 
hunting  witches. 

Morals,  already 
declining,  were  cor- 
rupted by  Eastern 
influence  ;  for  the  un- 
imaginative Roman, 
who  saw  little  beauty 
in  Greek  mythology 
and  art,  welcomed 
the  baser  pleasures 
of  an  advanced  civili- 
zation. At  the  same 
time  Greek  scepti- 
cism unsettled  his 
religious     faith,     the  A  Bacchante 

foundation        of       his     (National  Museum,  Naples;  a  fresco  from  Pompeii.) 

moral   conduct.      It 

is  not  to  be  assumed  that  all  the  Romans  were  now  vicious. 
The  peasant  who  escaped  economic  ruin  was  still  sound  at 
heart ;  and  even  the  circle  of  aristocrats  produced  the  pure- 
minded  Scipio  yEmilianus  and  the  noble,  self-sacrificing  spirit 
of  the  two  Gracchi,  who  were  to  be  the  leaders  of  the  com- 
ing age  of  revolution.  But  in  the  city  corruption  was  almost 
universal.  Crowds  of  beggar  clients  attended  the  noble,  and 
voted  for  him  in  return  for  the  loaves  he  doled  out  to  them,  P.  156. 
or  for  the  shows  of  buffoons,  beasts,  and  gladiators  with  which 


150 


Growth  of  Plutocracy 


he  amused  them  from  time  to  time.  The  rending  of  flesh  and 
the  flow  of  blood  gave  this  rabble  its  keenest  delight.  As  to 
the  higher  ranks,  the  greed  of  the  capitalist  and  the  insolence 

P.  140.  of  the  noble,  already  described,  were  surpassed  only  by  the 

impurity  of  their  lives,  while  beneath  the  specious  harmony 
which  seemed  to  unite  all  classes  in  the  state  and  empire, 
mutual  fear  and  hatred  lurked. 

summary.  "A   more    repulsive    picture    can    hardly   be    imagined. 

A  mob,  a  moneyed  class,  and  an  aristocracy  almost  equally 
worthless,  hating  each  other,  and  hated  by  the  rest  of  the 
world  ;  Italians  bitterly  jealous  of  Romans,  and  only  in  a 
better  plight  than  the  provinces  beyond  the  sea ;  more 
miserable  than  either,  swarms  of  slaves  beginning  to  brood 

Beesly,  The     over  revenge  as  a  solace  to  their  sufferings  ;  the  land  going 

','""  **'     7     out  of  cultivation  ;  native  industry  swamped  by  slave-grown 
Mar  ms,  and  J 

Sulla,  p.  22  f.   imports  ;  the  population  decreasing  ;  the  army  degenerating  ; 

wars  waged   as  a  speculation,  but  only  against  the  weak; 

provinces  subjected  to  organized  pillage  ;  in  the  metropolis 

childish  superstition,  wholesale  luxury,  and  monstrous  vice. 

The  hour  for  reform  was  surely  come.     "Who  was  to  be  the 

man?" 

Sources 

The  same  as  for  the  preceding  chapter  (p.  127).     Cf.  Botsford,  Story 

of  Koine,  ch.  vi. 

Modern  Works 

Pelham,  Outlines  of  Roman  History,  bk.  III.  ch.  iii  ;  How  and 
Leigh,  History  of  Rome,  chs.  xxviii-xxxii ;  Shuckburgh,  History  of 
Rome,  chs.  xxi,.\\vi,  xxxii  ;  Taylor,  Constitutional  and  Political  History 
of  Rome,  chs.  vii,  viii  ;  Fowler,  City-Slate,  ch.  viii  ;  Nitzsch,  Rdmische 
Republik,  i.  pp.  [33-188;  Ihne,  History  of  Rome,  bk.  VI  (entire); 
Mommsen,  History  oj  Koine,  bk.  III.  chs.  xi-xiv  ;  bk.  IV.  ch.  i  ;  Duruy, 
History  of  Rome  (I,  II)  chs.  xxii,  xxxiv-xxxvii,  xliv  ;  Beesly,  Gracchi, 
Man  us,  and  Sulla  (epochs),  ch.  i;  Arnold,  Roman  Provincial  Ad- 
ministration, chs.  i,  ii  ;  Freeman,  Historical  Geography;  Mackail, 
Latin  Literature,  bk.L  chs.  i-iii;  Cruttwell,  History  of  Roman  Litera- 
ture, bk.  I. 


Reading. 


Italian  Oxen 


CHAPTER   VII 

THE  REVOLUTION— (I)  FROM  PLUTOCRACY  TO  MILI- 
TARISM. THE  GRACCHI,  MARIUS,  AND  SULLA  (133- 
79  B.C.) 

Third.  Period  of  the  Republic  —  First  Epoch 

"Thinned  by  their  parents'  crimes,  our  youth  shall  hear 
How  Roman  against  Roman  bared  the  blade, 
Which  the  fierce  Persian  fitlier  low  had  laid, — 
Shall  hear  how  kin  met  kin  in  conflict  drear." 

—  Horace,  Odes,  i.  2. 


The  brothers  Tiberius  and  Gaius  Gracchus,  though  pie-   Tiberius  and 
beian,  belonged  to  the  highest  nobility.     Their  father  had   chus 
filled  all  the  great    offices   and   had    celebrated    triumphs; 

I51 


152 


From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism 


Plutarch, 
Ti.  Grac- 
chus ;  G. 
Gracchus. 

P-  336. 

P.  29. 


Duruy, 
Rome,  ii. 
P-445- 

The  agrarian 
laws  of  Tibe- 
rius. 
133  B.C. 


P.  86. 
Appian, 
Civil  Wars, 
i.  9-13 ;   Plu- 
tarch, Ti. 
Gracchus, 
8  ff;  Livy 
(epitome) 
Iviii. 


Cornelia,  the  mother,  was  daughter  of  the  Scipio  who  con- 
quered Hannibal.  Their  education  as  well  as  their  birth 
and  connections  fitted  them  for  a  splendid  career.  The 
gifted  mother,  so  Cicero  believes,  taught  them  eloquence  ; 
Greek  tutors  instructed  them  in  the  philosophy  and  the 
political  ideas  of  Hellas.  While  a  mere  youth  Tiberius 
became  an  augur,  and  afterward  married  the  daughter  of 
Appius  Claudius  ;  his  sister  was  given  in  marriage  to  Scipio 
yEmilianus.  When  as  young  men  they  served  in  military 
and  provincial  offices,  the  allies,  the  dependents,  and  even 
the  enemies  of  Rome  respected  and  loved  them  for  the 
kindness  of  their  forefathers  and  for  their  own  high  charac- 
ter ;  for  they  had  inherited  "  a  generous  sympathy  with  the 
oppressed,"  with  the  peasants,  the  provincials,  and  even  the 
slaves. 

Insight  into  the  deplorable  condition  of  society,  together 
with  a  fixed  resolve  to  regenerate  it,  led  Tiberius,  who  was 
nine  years  older  than  his  brother,  to  become  a  tribune  of 
the  plebs  for  the  year  133  b.c.  His  mother  and  kinsmen 
encouraged  him  in  the  work  of  reform  ;  the  consul  Mucius 
Scaevola,  the  most  eminent  jurist  of  the  age,  approved  his 
plan.  He  proposed  to  reenact  the  agrarian  laws  of  Licinius 
and  Sextius  as  follows  :  — 

No' one  shall  have  the  use  of  more  than  five  hundred 
jugera  of  the  public  land. 

No  one  shall  pasture  more  than  a  hundred  cattle  or  five 
hundred  sheep  on  the  public  land. 

He  added  as  a  third  clause  a  law  passed  after  the  time  of 
Licinius  :  — 

Of  the  laborers  on  any  farm,  a  certain  proportion  shall  be 
freemen. 

To  these  clauses  he  joined  the  following  :  — 

The   sons  —  not    exceeding   two  —  of  present   occupiers 


Tiberius  Gracchus  153 

may   each   hold   two    hundred  and   fifty  jugera  of   public 

land. 

A  committee  of  three,  appointed  by  the  tribes,  shall  divide 
the  surplus  among  the  needy  in  lots  of  thirty  jugera  each. 

His  plan  was  to  rescue  as  many  families  as  possible  from  Opposition, 
poverty  and  idleness  and  by  substituting  independent 
peasants  for  slaves,  to  lay  anew  and  solidly  the  economic 
foundation  of  society.  The  poor  were  enthusiastic  for  the 
measure.  But  the  rich,  who  for  generations  had  bought, 
sold,  and  bequeathed  the  public  land,  like  private  prop- 
erty, declared  the  bill  a  scheme  of  robbery.  As  these 
lands  were  scattered  over  the  whole  peninsula,  supporters 
and  opponents  of  the  measure  flocked  to  Rome  from  every 
quarter,  and  excited  the  city  with  their  violent  contentions. 

When  Tiberius  brought  his  proposal  before  the  tribes,  he  veto, 
commended  it  to  the  rich  by  an  appeal  to  their  reason: 
Make  this  trifling  sacrifice  for  the  good  of  the  republic,  in 
return  for  which  the  increased  strength  of  the  peasant  sol- 
diery will  assure  you  the  mastery  of  the  world.  But  argu- 
ment and  eloquence  could  not  overcome  their  narrow 
selfishness.  They  induced  Octavius,  a  tribune,  to  veto  the  p.  89. 
measure  of  his  colleague,  and  thus  prevented  it  from  passing. 

Two  courses  were  now  open  to  Tiberius :  he  might  abide   T^"*esr^"0. 
his  time,  gather  influence,   and  after  the  prescribed  ten   mtion. 
years,  offer  himself  again  for  the  tribunate  according  to   P.  88. 
law;  or,  .violating  the  constitution,   he  might  depose  the 
obstinate  colleague,  and  immediately  pass  the  bill.      If  the 
first  alternative  gave  little  promise  of  success,  at  least  it 
would  have  been  the  Roman  way;  but  his  Greek  political 
ideas  and  the  pressing  need  of  reform  decided  him  in  favor 
of  the  second.     In  fact  he  could  not  resist  the  voice  of 
the  revolution  which  called  him  to  leadership.     The  tribes 
deposed   Octavius;    a    freedman    of    Tiberius   pulled    the 


154 


From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism 


A  mob  of 
senators  kills 
him. 


Appian, 
Civil  Wats, 
i.  14   ft";    Plu- 
tarch, Ti. 
Gracchus 
16  ff. 


Scipio  iEmil- 
ianus. 

I'.  127. 

Appian, 
Civil  Wars, 
i.  19. 


ex-tribune  from  the  rostrum,  and  the  revolution  of  a  hun- 
dred years  began.  The  aim  of  this  revolution  was  to 
substitute  the  assembly  for  the  senate, — democracy  for 
aristocracy;  it  was  to  end  in  the  establishment  of  the 
imperial  government. 

His  measure  then  passed  without  opposition,  and  was  so 
well  carried  out  that  after  four  years  the  census  roll,  which 
had  long  been  diminishing,  showed  an  increase  of  nearly 
eighty  thousand  citizens  fit  for  military  service.  But  the 
nobles  threatened  to  prosecute  him  on  his  retirement  from 
office;  and  this  menace  decided  him  to  offer  himself  for 
immediate  reelection  to  the  tribunate,  —  another  uncon- 
stitutional step.  On  election  day  his  peasant  supporters 
were  busy  with  their  harvests;  and  when  the  voting  began, 
a  crowd  of  senators  and  other  opponents  of  the  reformer, 
led  by  Scipio  Nasica,  dispersed  the  assembly.  Two  of  the 
colleagues  of  Tiberius,  turning  traitor,  killed  him  with 
clubs.  With  similar  weapons  the  senatorial  party  mur- 
dered three  hundred  of  his  followers,  and  threw  their 
bodies  into  the  Tiber.  Thus  the  senate  met  unlawful  pro- 
cedure with  mob  violence,  by  which  it  encouraged  the 
revolution. 

The  authorities  tried  to  overawe  the  democrats  by  prose- 
cuting even  the  obscure  followers  of  Tiberius.  On  the 
return  of  Scipio  /Emilianus  from  Spain,  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  Numantia,  he,  too,  disapproved  the  conduct  of  his 
brother-in-law,  and  somewhat  later  he  put  a  stop  to  the 
distributions  of  land.  This  was  at  the  request  of  the 
Italian  allies,  who  did  not  share  in  the  allotments  but  had 
some  of  their  own  land  —  or  land  they  claimed  as  their 
OWn  —  seized  by  the  distributing  committee.  While  this 
sympathy  with  the  Italians  was  praiseworthy,  its  effect  was 
simply  to   bring  reform   to   a  standstill.     Though  Scipio 


Gains  Grace  In  is  155 

knew  something  of  the  danger  which  threatened  society,  he 
had  not  the  courage  of  a  reformer.  The  people,  who  had 
often  supported  him  for  office  against  the  wishes  of  the 
senate,  were  disappointed  to  find  him  using  his  influence 
as  a  prop  to  the  nobility;  so  when  he  suddenly  died,  they 
shed  no  tears  over  their  former  favorite. 

The  democratic  leaders  soon  regained  courage.     Elected   The  dem°- 

cratic  pro- 

to  the  consulship,  Fulvius  Flaccus,  an  ardent  supporter  of   gramme. 

the  Gracchi,  proposed  to  win  the  Italians  to  the  land  law 

by  giving  them  the  citizenship.     This  offer  they  would 

gladly  have  accepted,  had  not  the  senate  put  a  stop  to  the 

measure.     Another   leader   passed   a   law    permitting   the 

people  to  reelect  a  tribune  in  case  of  a  lack  of  candidates. 

More  important  still,  Gaius  Gracchus  was  coming  to  the    Gaius  Grac- 

front.     When  the  people  heard  him  defending  a  friend  in    .     .' 

the  law-court,  they  were  wild  with  delight;  for  they  saw    Civil  Wars, 

that  other  orators  were  mere  children  compared  with  him,    '■  2I  ff;  Plu" 

1  tarch,  G. 

and  they  felt  that  his  magnificent  talents  were  to  be  used  Gracchus. 
in  their  behalf.  For  a  time  he  served  as  quaestor  in  Sar- 
dinia, and  avoided  politics  when  at  home,  but  his  fate 
called  him  to  finish  a  brother's  work;  he  dreamed  that 
Tiberius  appeared  to  him  one  night  and  said,  "Why  hesi- 
tate, Gaius?  it  is  your  destiny,  as  mine,  to  live  and  die  for 
the  people." 

He  was  candidate  for  the  tribuneship  for  the  year  1 23  B.C.    Gaius  tribune 
Though  the  nobles  opposed  him,  all  Italy  gathered  to  his   °o  _e^e  s' 
support;  on  election  day  the  people  overflowed  the  Cam- 
pus Martius  and  shouted  their  wishes  from  the  house-tops. 
When  his  year  of  office  had  expired,  they  reelected  him  to 
a  second  term. 

As  his  brother  had  failed  through  reliance  on  the  peas-   He  organizes 

,  .  ,  .      .  .     .  .     .  ...  r    a  revolution- 

ants,  who  could  rarely  leave  their  work  for  politics,  one  of   aryparty. 

his  first  objects  was  to  secure  a  faithful  body  of  supporters 


156  From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism 

such  as  might  always  be  on  hand.  For  this  purpose  he 
passed  a  law  providing  for  the  monthly  distribution  of  pub- 
lic grain  among  the  citizens  at  half  the  market  price.  In 
doing  this  he  introduced  no  new  principle;  for  the  senate 

had  often  supplied  the  popu- 
lace with  cheap  or  free 
grain,  and  each  noble  sup- 

D  *■   jM  ported  a  throng  of  clients. 

P.  149.  mr** 

He  merely  detached  the  peo- 
ple from  their  several  pa- 
trons and  enlisted  them  in 
the  support  of  his  reforms. 
Thus  he  organized  the  army 
of  the  revolution,  which 
even  the  strongest  emperors 
P.  276.  jS^/il^  could     not     disband.         Mis 

system  wrought  mischief  in 
draining  the  treasury  and 
in  encouraging  idleness;  the 
completion  of  his  great  re- 
forms, however,  would  prob- 
ably have  corrected  the 
evil. 

He  wins  the  9  V  Next    he    formed    of   the 

.™g  r  s'  -^v.  knights  a   rank  wholly  dis- 

A\  Old  Shepherdess  tinct  from  the  senatorial  no- 

(Palace  of  the  Conservatory  Rome;  found     bility,      and      Won      them      to 

on  the  Esquiline.) 

himself  by  making  them 
■'i'-  T33. 137-  alone  eligible  to  the  juries  in  place  of  the  senators,  who 
had  corrupted  the  courts.  As  Gaius  himself  had  the 
power  to  say  who  of  the  knights  should  be  jurors,  he 
probably  selected  only  men  of  good  character  and  held 
them  responsible.      But  when  his  death  freed  them  from 


His  A  dm  inistration  1 5  7 

control,    they   showed    themselves   more   corrupt   than   the 

senators   had   ever  been.      It   was    in   the    interest   of    the 

knights,  too,  that  he  let  out  the  revenues  from  the  province 

of  Asia  to  contractors.      Hitherto  it  had  paid  a  fixed  sum 

each  year;  now  the  act  of  Gains  delivered  it  over  to  the    P.  132. 

publicans.    Had  he  lived,  he  might  in  time  have  remedied 

this  abuse;  but  history  condemns  him  for  staking  the  hap-    Cf.  Plutarch, 

piness  of  the  provincials,  whom  he  doubtless  loved,  on  his      " 

perilous  game  of  politics.      He  was  boldly  concentrating 

all  his  resources,    and   gathering   supporters  for    the    one 

measure  on  which  he  had  set  his  heart,  — the  enfranchise-    P.  is8- 

ment  of  all  the  Italians.     This  chief  point  in  his  policy  we 

shall  consider  later. 

Meantime  we  see  his  hands  busy  in   every  part  of   the    His  g^eat  ad- 
ministrative 
state  and  empire.     He  passed  laws  to  prevent  the  draft-   ability. 

ing  of  boys  under  military  age;  to  supply  the  troops  with 
clothes  at  the  public  expense;  to  hinder  the  senate  from 
appointing  favorites  to  governorships  of  the  best  provinces; 
to  plant  colonies  in  Italy  and  the  provinces,  in  which  all 
Italians  who  took  part  should  receive  the  Roman  citizen- 
ship. He  built  roads  and  public  granaries;  "and  he  made 
himself  director  and  superintendent  for  carrying  all  these 
measures  into  effect.  Though  engaged  in  so  many  great 
undertakings,  he  never  wearied,  but  with  wonderful  activity 
and  labor  he  effected  every  single  object  as  if  he  had  for 
the  time  -no  other  occupation,  so  that  even  those  who 
thoroughly  hated  and  feared  him  were  struck  with  amaze-  Plutarch,  a. 
ment  at  the  rapidity  and  perfect  execution  of  all  that  he 
undertook.  But  the  people  looked  with  admiration  on  the 
man  himself,  seeing  him  attended  by  crowds  of  building 
contractors,  artificers,  ambassadors,  magistrates,  soldiers, 
and  learned  men,  to  all  of  whom  he  was  easy  of  access; 
and  while  he  maintained  his  dignity,  he  was  affable  to  all, 


158 


From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism 


His  plan  of 
government. 

Botsford, 
Greece, 
p.  177. 


P-  157. 


The  aristo- 
crats kill 
him. 
l>p.  136,  149. 


and  adapted  his  behavior  to  the  condition  of  every  indi- 
vidual, and  so  proved  the  falsehood  of  those  who  called 
him  tyrannical,  or  arrogant,  or  violent."  He  was  even  a 
greater  administrator  than  orator.  It  is  astonishing  to  see 
the  office  of  tribune,  once  so  insignificant,  become  for  a 
time  the  controlling  power  of  the  state  and  empire. 

Gaius  had  thought  out  a  complete  plan  of  reform.  For 
the  government,  he  would  have  in  the  tribunate  an  absolute 
ministry,  like  the  office  of  general  at  Athens  under  Peri- 
cles, dependent  only  on  the  will  of  the  people,  — a  minis- 
try which  should  control  the  composition  of  the  courts,  and 
the  decrees  of  the  senate,  select  candidates  for  the  high 
offices,  and  watch  over  the  entire  administration.  He 
would  plant  industrial  as  well  as  farming  colonies  in  Italy 
and  the  provinces,  to  restore  to  them  the  prosperity  which 
the  nobles  had  destroyed.  He  would  give  the  full  citizen- 
ship to  the  Latins  and  at  least  the  suffrage  to  the  Italian 
allies. 

His  great  mistake  was  in  supposing  the  city  mob  to  be 
the  Roman  people,  —  to  have  the  virtue  necessary  for  the 
support  of  his  reforms.  Angered  by  his  proposal  to  give 
the  franchise  to  the  Italians,  it  defeated  this  measure  and 
failed  to  elect  him  to  a  third  term.  The  knights,  too, 
deserted  him.  When  the  senate  tried  to  prevent  him  from 
planting  a  colony  at  Carthage,  both  parties  resorted  to  vio- 
lence. The  consul  Opimius,  armed  by  the  senate  with 
absolute  power,1  overthrew  the  Gracchan  party,  and  killed 

1  In  the  Second  Punic  War  the  dictatorship  had  fallen  into  disuse, 
to  be  revived  some  time  after  the  Gracchi  by  Sulla.  Meanwhile  the 
senate  found  a  new  way  of  proclaiming  martial  law  ;  by  passing  the 
resolution,  "Let  the  consuls  see  that  the  state  suffer  no  harm,"  it  con- 
ferred upon  the  chief  magistrates  a  power  equal  to  that  of  dictator. 
Opimius  was  the  first  to  receive  this  absolute  authority  from  the  sen- 
ate ;  Cicero  held  it  also  in  the  conspiracy  of  Catiline  ;  p.  182. 


diameter  of  t)ic  Gracchi  159 

Gaius,  with  three  thousand  of  his  followers.  But  the  aris- 
tocracy was  broken  forever;  the  authority  it  was  to  exercise 
from  time  to  time  rested  on  the  capricious  favor  of  the 
rabble. 

All  agree  that  while  the  motives  of  the  Gracchi  were  The  charac- 
good,  their  methods  were  violent.  It  is  commonly  said,  Gl.racchi 
too,  that  they  showed  the  zeal  of  heroes  and  martyrs  rather 
than  the  wise  patience  of  statesmen.  We  must  grant,  how- 
ever, that  as  no  material  existed  from  which  a  party  of 
reform  could  be  organized,  revolution  was  the  only  pos- 
sible remedy  for  the  intolerable  condition  of  the  Roman 
world.  In  further  justification  of  their  policy,  it  is  fair 
to  add  that  the  imperial  government  to  which  their  revo- 
lution led,  and  of  which  Gaius  sketched  the  plan,  was  far 
better  than  the  anarchy  into  which  the  senate  was  plunging 
the  world.  "The  people,  though  humbled  and  depressed 
for  a  time,  soon  showed  how  much  they  desired  and 
regretted  the  Gracchi.  For  they  had  statues  of  the  two  Plutarch,  c 
brothers  made  and  set  up  in  public  places,  and  the  spots 
on  which  they  fell  were  declared  sacred  ground,  to  which 
the  people  brought  all  the  first-fruits  of  the  seasons,  and 
offered  sacrifices  there  and  worshipped  just  as  at  the  tem- 
ples of  the  gods."  They  were  right  in  enshrining  the 
sons  of  Cornelia  as  the  noblest  characters  the  history  of 
their  country  had  brought  to  light. 

The  death  of  Gaius  restored  the  senate  to  power,  —  not,    The  senate 
however,   to   its  former  independent  position,   for  hence-   Playsthe 

demagogue. 

forth  it  could  maintain  its  leadership  only  by  feeding  the  pp.  i49, 156. 
rabble.  The  insolence  of  the  aristocracy  stirred  up  ene- 
mies; at  the  same  time  it  was  too  weak  to  command 
respect  at  home  or  to  protect  the  empire.  These  funda- 
mental defects  were  already  undermining  the  republic, 
preparatory  to  the  founding  of  a  juster  and  more  efficient 


i6o 


From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism 


GaiusMarius. 


Plutarch, 
Marius,  3. 


Sallust, 
Jug  ut  thine 
I  I  'ar,  63. 


His  early 
career. 


government.  Tiberius  Gracchus  had  made  the  people 
conscious  of  their  power;  Gaius  had  organized  the  army 
of  revolution,  which  could  tear  down,  while  it  lacked  the 
wisdom  and  the  virtue  of  a  builder.  A  ministry  which 
rested  on  the  fickle  mob  could  save  neither  state  nor 
society.  The  work  of  establishing  in  the  army  a  solid 
foundation  for  the  new  government  remained  to  his  suc- 
cessor, Gaius  Marius. 

This  man,  a  native  of  Arpinum  in  the  hills  of  Latium, 
was  the  son  of  poor  parents.  In  boyhood  "his  mode  of 
life  was  rude,  when  contrasted  with  the  artificial  fashions 

of  a  city,  but  temperate 
and  in  accordance  with 
the  old  Roman  disci- 
pline." "As  soon  as  he 
-_  became  old  enough  to  bear 
arms,  he  employed  him- 
self not  in  the  study  of 
Greek  eloquence  or  in 
learning  the  refinements 
of  the  city,  but  in  military 
service;  and  thus  by  the 
strictest  discipline  his 
excellent  genius  soon  at- 
tained full  vigor."      "He 


Youth  Reading  \\  \  Book-case 

(Relief  on  a  sarcophagus.) 


had  industry,  integrity,  great  knowledge  of  war,  and  a 
spirit  undaunted  in  the  field;  he  was  temperate  in  private 
life,  superior  to  pleasure  and  riches,  and  ambitious  only 
for  glory." 

As  tribune  of  the  plebs,  119  B.C.,  he  offended  the  nobles 
by  passing  a  law  for  checking  bribery  at  the  polls;  and  he 
angered  the  rabble  by  opposing  a  bill  for  the  distribution 
of  cheap  grain.      Himself  a  peasant,   he  stood  forth  as  a 


Jugurthine  War  161 

protector  of  his  own  class.     His  policy  was  that  of  Manius  P.  144  f. 
Curius  Dentatus  and  of  Cato.      In  addition  to  a  tribune- 
ship  of  the  plebs  and  of  the  soldiers,  "he  attained  other  Sallust, 
offices  in  succession,  and  conducted  himself  so  well  in  his  Jugurthine 

War,  63. 

public  duties  that  he  was  always  deemed  worthy  of  a  higher 
station  than  he  had  reached."  As  propraetor  he  ruled  Far- 
ther Spain,  and  "cleared  all  the  robber  establishments  out  Plutarch, 
of  his  province,  which  was  still  an  uncivilized  country." 
On  his  return  to  Rome  he  -married  Julia  of  the  illustrious 
house  of  the  Caesars;  and  when,  in  109  B.C.,  the  consul 
Metellus  went  to  Africa  to  war  against  the  Numidians,  he 
took  Marius  with  him  as  lieutenant. 

Nothing  shows  the  Weakness  and  depravity  of  the  aris-   Thejugur- 
...  .  .  T  ,  ,  .    thine  War, 

tocracy  more  clearly  than  this  war.     Jugurtha,  grandson  01    II3.Io6BiC_ 

Masinissa,  attempted  to  oust  his  two  cousins  from  their  p.  123. 
share  of  the  government  of  Numidia.  Though  the  senate 
intervened,  Jugurtha  by  a  free  use  of  gold  bought  off  one 
of  its  commissions  after  another.  Meantime  he  bribed 
men  to  kill  a  cousin;  he  then  waged  war  upon  the  other, 
took  him  captive,  and  tortured  him  to  death.  When  com- 
mercial interests  led  Rome  to  war  against  him,  he  bribed  Sallust, 
the  first  commander  to  withdraw  from  Africa,  and  by  cor-    J"gUi 

l-l  a>\  27-38. 

rupting  the  officers  of  the  second,  he  compelled  the  sur- 
render of  their  army,  and  sent  it  under  the  yoke.  In  the 
interval  between  these  campaigns,  the  villain  even  ventured 
to  Rome,  where  he  purchased  friends  and  assassinated  a 
rival.  As  he  set  out  for  home  from  the  capital  of  the 
world,  he  is  said  to  have  exclaimed,  "A  city  for  sale  and 
doomed  to  destruction,  if  only  a  purchaser  appears  !  "  Such 
was  the  state  of  affairs  when  Metellus,  a  man  of  energy  and 
of  excellent  character;  the  best  noble  of  his  time,  took 
command.  He  reduced  the  army  to  discipline  and  defeated  109-108  b.c. 
Jugurtha;  after  which,  Marius,  elected  consul,  superseded    107-105  b.c. 

M 


1 62 


From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism 


p.  131. 


The  Cimbri 
and  the 
Teutons. 

Plutarch, 
Marius,  11. 


I02  B.C. 


The  reorgani- 
zation of  the 
army. 


Sal  lust, 

Jugurthine 
War,  86; 
Plutarch, 
Marius,  9. 


his  former  commander  and  ended  the  war.  Lucius  Cor- 
nelius Sulla,  a  young  aristocrat  who  was  quaestor  under 
Marius,  took  Jugurtha  captive  and  brought  him  to  Rome, 
where  he  perished  in  prison. 

Marius  had  not  yet  arrived  at  Rome  when  the  people 
reelected  him  consul  to  protect  the  country  from  an  inroad 
of  barbarians.  Two  powerful  German  tribes,  the  Cimbri1 
and  the  Teutons,  moved  westward  from  the  region  of  the 
Danube  into  Transalpine  Gaul  and  assailed  the  new  prov- 
ince Rome  had  established  on  the  coast  between  the  Alps 
and  the  Pyrenees.  In  the  course  of  this  movement,  the 
barbarians  defeated  six  Roman  armies  in  succession.  They 
threatened  to  invade  Italy;  but  a  delay  of  three  years, 
during  which  they  wandered  about  in  Gaul  and  Spain,  gave 
the  Romans  time  to  prepare.  Reelected  consul  year  after 
year,  Marius  busied  himself  with  reorganizing  and  training 
the  army.  When  at  length  the  Teutons  were  ready  to  cross 
the  Alps  into  Italy,  he  met  them  at  Aquae  Sextiae  in  south- 
ern Gaul,  and  annihilated  their  great  host.  In  like  man- 
ner he  and  his  colleague,  Catulus,  in  the  following  year, 
slaughtered  the  Cimbri  at  Vercellae  in  northern  Italy,  after 
they  had  succeeded  in  crossing  the  Alps.  These  decisive 
victories  saved  the  civilization  of  the  Roman  empire  from 
being  overwhelmed  by  the  barbarians. 

But  this  success  was  won  by  an  important  departure  from 
republican  principles.  Heretofore  the  soldiers  possessed 
at  least  a  small  amount  of  property,  which  attached  them 
loyally  to  the  state;  but  as  there  was  a  lack  of  men  thus 
qualified  for  service,  Marius  accepted  volunteers  from  the 
lowest  class  of  rural  laborers,  including  those  who  were 
entirely  without  property.     Such  persons  now  sought  a  live- 

1  Though  some  believe  the  Cimbri  to  have  been  Celts,  the  better 
authorities  favor  the  view   presented   in  the  text. 


Saturninus  and  Glaucia  163 

lihood  in  military  service,  and  looked  upon  dismissal  as  a 
misfortune.  As  no  tie  of  property  bound  them  to  the 
state,  they  began  to  place  all  their  hopes  in  their  com- 
mander and  were  ready  to  follow  him  in  any  undertaking. 
At  the  same  time  Marius  dispensed  with  the  Roman  cav-  p.  140. 
airy,  an  aristocratic  body,  for  which  he  substituted  the 
more  efficient  and  more  obedient  horsemen  of  the  allies. 
He  improved  the  legion  by  grouping  three  maniples  in  a  P.  46  f. 
cohort,  which  he  employed  as  the  tactical  unit.  All  the 
soldiers  were  now  equipped  alike,  and  depended  for  their 
rank  and  honor,  not  on  length  of  service  as  formerly,  but 
on  the  favor  of  the  commander.  By  these  changes  he 
prepared  an  army  which  would  support  its  commander  in 
any  ambitious  design,  even  against  the  senate  and  the 
people.  It  is  of  great  political  importance,  too,  that  in 
defiance  of  the  constitution,  the  people  elected  Marius  to  p.  88. 
the  consulship  six  times  in  rapid   succession.      With  his    I07,  io4-i°° 

B.C. 

absolute  command  of  the  army  he  acquired,  by  this  long 
continuance  in  office,  a  power  little  less  than  that  of  king. 

In  his  sixth  consulship,  100  e.g.,  he  allied  himself  with   Marius  allies 
Saturninus,   a  tribune,   and  Glaucia,   a  praetor,   to  carry  a   g1^6    Wlth 
law  for  planting  colonies  of  his  veterans  in  the  provinces,    and  Glaucia. 
Glaucia  was  a  witty  orator,  Saturninus  a  bold  revolutionist. 
When  some  of  the  tribunes  vetoed  the  bill,  he  snatched  it   Livy  (epit- 
from  the  clerk  and  himself  continued  the  reading.     As  his   ome^  lxlx; 

&  Plutarch, 

colleagues  ordered  the  voting  stopped,  he  drove  them  from   Marius,  28- 
the  rostra.     Then  the  opposing  party  declared  they  heard   3°;  Appian, 
a  clap  of  thunder, — an  ill  omen  which  should  have  dis-    i  28-^ 
solved   the   assembly.      "Take   care,"   Saturninus   replied, 
"or  the  thunder  will  be  followed  by  hail!"     In  his  sup- 
port,   the   rural    party   then    drove    their    opponents  —  the 
rabble  —  from    the    assembly    and    passed    the    measure. 
Though  Marius  had  his  heart  set  upon  the  plan,  he  dis- 


164 


From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism 


Violent  death 
of  Saturni- 
nus  and 
Glaucia. 

P.  75- 


Appian, 
<  'ivil  Wars, 
i.  32. 


The  meaning 
of  this  vio- 
lence. 


Appian,  i.  33. 


The  failure 
of  Marius. 


P.  149. 
P.  159. 


approved  the  illegality  and  the  violence  with  which  it  was 
carried. 

On  the  day  for  the  election  of  the  next  consuls,  when 
Glaucia  presented  himself  as  the  candidate  of  the  rural 
plebs,  a  fight  between  them  and  the  city  rabble  broke  up 
the  assembly.  Then  the  senators  and  the  knights  called 
upon  Marius  as  chief  magistrate  to  put  down  the  sedition. 
Reluctantly  he  armed  some  of  his  forces  to  defend  the 
constitution  against  Saturninus  and  Glaucia,  his  former  asso- 
ciates. After  some  time  they  surrendered  "on  the  public 
faith";  and  though  their  enemies  demanded  their  death, 
"he  placed  them  in  the  senate-house  with  the  intention  of 
treating  them  in  a  more  legal  manner.  The  mob  consid- 
ered this  a  mere  pretext.  It  tore  the  tiles  off  the  roof  and 
stoned  them  to  death,  including  a  quaestor,  a  tribune,  and 
a  praetor,  who  were  still  wearing  their  insignia  of  office." 

"Freedom,  democracy,  laws,  reputation,  official  position 
were  no  longer  of  any  use  to  anybody,  since  even  the 
tribunician  office,  which  had  been  devised  for  the  restraint 
of  wrong-doers  and  for  the  protection  of  the  plebeians,  and 
was  sacred  and  inviolable,  now  committed  such  outrages, 
and  suffered  such  indignities." 

In  favor  of  Saturninus  and  Glaucia,  it  must  be  said  that 
they  had  at  their  back  the  rural  plebeians,  who,  though 
revolutionary,  were  the  only  morally  sound  party  in  the 
state,  while  the  senate  depended  upon  the  unprincipled 
city  rabble.  The  revolutionary  leaders,  although  baser  and 
more  violent  than  the  Gracchi,  were  carrying  out  the  work 
of  those  reformers.  Had  Marius  been  as  great  a  statesman 
as  general,  he  would  have  cast  his  lot  with  them,  and  from 
the  sedition  of  the  P'orum  he  would  have  emerged  a  king. 
The  time  was  ripe  for  the  change;  the  interest  of  the 
empire  demanded   it.       Jint  lacking  political   wisdom,    he 


Marcus  Livius  Drusus 


165 


failed  to  read  the  signs  of  the  time.  In  fact  too  great 
success  was  rapidly  undermining  his  hardy,  peasant  char- 
acter. He  missed  his 
destiny;  and  the  fate  of 
Rome  passed  into  other 
hands. 

The  senate  found  itself 
encompassed  on  all  sides 
by  enemies :  the  knights, 
who  controlled  the  courts, 
terrorized  it  with  their 
prosecutions ;  the  mob 
breathed  jealousy  and 
hatred  while  it  clamored 
for  bread  ;  the  rural 
plebeians  threatened  at 
any  moment  to  invade 
the  Forum  and  trample 
upon  the  government;  at 
the  same  time  the  op- 
pressed Italians  were  on 
the  point  of  rebellion. 
These  conditions  led 
some  of  the  more  liberal  aristocrats  to  think  of  winning  the 
support  of  the  Italians  by  granting  them  the  citizenship. 
The  leader  of  this  movement,  Marcus  Livius  Drusus,  a 
young  man  of  great  wealth  and  illustrious  family,  became 
tribune  of  the  plebs  in  91  B.C.  He  proposed  cheap  corn, 
colonization,  the  division  of  the  courts  between  an  equal 
number  of  senators  and  knights,  and  the  enfranchisement 
of  the  Italians.  Though  by  this  variety  of  measures  he 
intended  to  attract  all  classes  of  citizens,  all  found  in  them 
something  to  condemn.     They  passed  with  difficulty,  but 


The  senate 
in  difficulties 

P.  156. 


An  Old  Fisherman 

(Vatican  Museum,  Rome.) 


P-  155- 

Marcus 
Livius 
Drusus. 
91  B.C. 

Livy  (epit- 
ome) lxxi. ; 
Velleius  Pa- 
terculus,  ii. 
13-14;  Ap- 
pian,  Civil 
Wars,  i. 

35-37- 


1 66 


From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism 


The  Varian 
law. 

The  disap- 
pointment of 
the  Italians. 
Diodorus 
xxxvii ;  Livy 
(epitome) 
lxxii-lxxvi ; 
Appian, 
Civil  Wars, 
i.  38-53- 


The  Social 
War,  90-88 
B.C. 


Mommscn, 
Rome,  l»k.  I V 

I  h.  vil. 


were  annulled  by  the  senate;  and  soon  afterward  Drusus 
was  murdered.  A  law  was  then  passed  which  threatened 
with  prosecution  any  one  who  dared  aid  the  Italians  in 
acquiring  the  citizenship. 

The  death  of  Drusus  and  the  passing  of  this  act  deprived 
the  Italians  of  their  last  hope  of  obtaining  their  rights  by 
peaceable  means.  It  was  not  that  they  wished  to  vote  at 
Rome;  for  most  of  them  lived  too  far  away  for  this.  But 
they  needed  the  protection  which  citizenship  gave :  their 
soldiers  desired  humane  treatment  at  the  hands  of  the 
commanders;  in  the  affairs  of  peace,  they  asked  for  the 
same  rights  of  property  and  of  trade  which  the  Romans 
had  always  enjoyed;  but  most  of  all,  they  desired  Roman 
officials  and  private  citizens  to  cease  insulting,  scourging, 
and  killing  them  for  amusement  or  spite.  So  much  citizen- 
ship would  have  meant  to  them. 

Accordingly,  in  90  B.C.,  the  allies,  chiefly  those  of  Sabel- 
lian  race,  revolted,  and  founded  a  new  state.  As  their 
capital,  they  selected  Corfinium  in  the  country  of  the  Pse- 
lignians,  and  named  it  Italica.  In  the  main  they  patterned 
their  government  after  that  of  Rome;  they  gave  the  citizen- 
ship to  all  who  took  part  with  them  in  the  war;  and  they 
aimed  to  annex  the  whole  of  Italy.  As  the  opposing  forces 
were  divided  into  several  small  armies,  the  military  opera- 
tions were  intricate.  Though  fighting  against  great  odds, 
the  Italians  were  so  successful  the  first  year  that,  near  its 
close,  the  consul  Lucius  Julius  Cresar  felt  compelled  to 
make  sure  of  those  who  were  still  faithful  by  giving  them 
the  citizenship.  Soon  afterward  another  law  offered  the 
same  reward  to  those  who  would  return  to  their  allegiance. 
"Accordingly  the  gates  of  Roman  citizenship,  which  had 
so  long  remained  closed  against  entreaty,  now  suddenly 
opened  when  the  sword  knocked   at  them."     These  con- 


The  Italians  as  Citizens  167 

cessions  not  only  prevented  the  revolt  from  extending  itself, 
but  so  weakened  it  that,  in  another  year,  the  Romans  broke 
the  strength  of  the  allies. 

In  addition  to  local  self-government  in  their  own  towns,    The  Italians 

as  Roman 

—  municipia,  —  the  Italians  now  possessed  the  Roman  citi-   citizens 
zenship.      But  they  were  degraded  by  being  enrolled  in 

eight  new  tribes,  which  voted  after  the  old  thirty-five.    Too 
far  away  to  enjoy  all  their  privileges,  they  envied  and  hated 
the  city  plebs,  who  in  turn  despised  the  municipals,  and   P.  63. 
still  looked  upon  themselves  as  the  only  qualified  Romans, 

—  qualified %  for  receiving  cheap  corn  and  witnessing  free    Pp.  13s,  156. 
shows.      Had  the  Italians  secured  representation   in  the 

senate,  their  fresh  blood  and  superior  virtue  might  have  P.  135. 
saved  the  republic.  But  as  matters  were,  they  still  regarded 
the  senate  and  the  rabble  as  their  oppressors,  and  they 
therefore  welcomed  the  strong  man,  who,  as  absolute  mas- 
ter, should  make  these  enemies  his  footstool.  Hence  the 
idea  of  monarchy  grew  apace. 

Accordingly  politics  took  a  new  turn;  the  questions  of   a  new  era  in 
the  future  were,  who  was  to  be  the  man   of   power,    and   p0 
how  much  authority  was  he  to  snatch  from  the  senate.    The 
first  conflict  came  between  the  veteran  Marius  and  Sulla, 
his  quaestor  of  the  Jugurthine  War.     The  latter,  patrician   P.  162. 
though  poor,  was  a  lover  of  vice  and  of  low  company,  but 
endowed  with  a  remarkable  talent  for  war,  diplomacy,  and 
politics.     "His  eyes  were  an  uncommonly  pure  and  pierc- 
ing blue,  which  the  color  of  his  face  rendered  still  more    Plutarch, 
terrible,  as  it  was  spotted  with  rough,  red  blotches  inter- 
spersed with  white,  .  .  .  a  mulberry  besprinkled  with  meal." 
Success  as  a  general  in  the  Social  War  brought  him  the 
consulship  in  88  B.C. 

In  this  year  the  attention  of  Rome  was  called   to   the   Conflict  be- 
tween Marius 
East,  where  Mithridates,  the  able  and  ambitious  king  of   and  Suiia. 


i68 


From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism 


Sulpicius, 
tribune  in  8 
B.C. 

Plutarch, 
Marius,  35. 


Marius  and 
Cinna,  87 
B.C. 


Pontus,  a  country  on  the  south  shore  of   the   Black   Sea, 
had   rapidly    extended    his   power,    and   was   driving   the 
Romans   from   Asia  Minor.      Naturally  Sulla,    as  consul, 
received  the  command  against  this  dreaded  enemy.     But 
Marius,  who  though  old  and  fat  was  still  vigorous,  wanted 
the  place  that  he  might  regain  the  influence  he  had  lost. 
He  found  a  helper  in  Sulpicius,  tribune  of  the  plebs,  the 
"grandest   and   most   tragic   orator"   Cicero   ever   heard. 
Supported   by  the    Italians,   to  whom  he  promised  enrol- 
ment in  the  old  tribes,  and  by  a  band  of  armed  followers, 
this  man  violently  forced  through  the  assembly.a  resolution 
for  the  appointment  of  Marius.     Sulla,  still  consul,  led  his 
army  to  Rome  and  settled  the  question  with  the   sword. 
Sulpicius  was  killed;  Marius  fled  to  Africa.     This  was  the 
first   time   the   army  appeared  on  the  political   stage;   it 
marked  a  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  republic.    The  leader- 
ship of  the  revolution  passed  from  the  tribunes  to  the  gen- 
erals.     Henceforth   the   sword  was   to   arbitrate   between 
political  rivals;  and  the  successful  commander  was  to  rule 
the  Roman  world.      After  restoring  the  authority  of   the 
senate   and  giving  it  complete  power  over  the  acts  of  the 
tribunes,  Sulla  proceeded  with  his  army  to  the  war  against 
Mithridates. 

No  sooner  had  he  left  Italy  than  an  armed  conflict  broke 
out  between  the  consuls,  Octavius  and  Cinna,  over  the 
enrolment  of  the  Italians  in  the  old  tribes.  In  this 
struggle  ten  thousand  men  lost  their  lives.  Octavius, 
leader  of  the  aristocracy,  drove  Cinna,  champion  of  the 
Italians,  from  the  city.  The  senate  deposed  the  popular 
leader  from  the  consulship.  But  Cinna  quickly  gathered 
an  army  of  Italians,  recalled  Marius  from  banishment, 
and  following  the  example  of  Sulla,  marched  against 
Rome.     Marius  returned  from  an  exile  which  had  been  to 


Progress  of  the  Revolution  169 

him  a  series  of  adventures  and   of   hair-breadth   escapes. 
In  his  old  age,  the  greatness  of  his  character  had  changed 
to  rabid  fury  against  the  aristocrats.     "  Filthy  and  long- 
haired, he  marched  through  the  towns  presenting  a  pitiable   Appian, 
appearance,  descanting  on  his  battles,  on  his  victories  over   .  '£ 
the    Cimbri,   and    his    six    consulships,"    and  with    grim 
determination  promised    the   Italians  their    rights.       His 
resolution  was  unbroken;  for  he  was  superstitious,  and  he 
remembered,  so  at  least  he  asserted,  that  when  he  was  a 
boy,  an  eagle's  nest  containing  seven  little  ones  had  fallen 
into  his  lap,  —  an  omen  that  he  should  be  consul   seven   Plutarch, 
times.      The   two  revolutionary   leaders   entered   the   city  Ma 
with  their  bands  of  Italians,  foreigners,  and  runaway  slaves. 
They  killed  Octavius  and  all  the  eminent  aristocrats;  for 
five   days  they  hunted  down  their  opponents,   massacred 
them,    and    plundered    their    property.       They   gave    the 
Italians  their  rights.      Marius  received  his  seventh  con- 
■  sulship,  but  died  soon  afterward  from  drinking. 

The  story  of  Marius  and  Cinna  seems  like  the  last  act  Therevoiu- 
of  a  terrible  drama.     By  the  murder  of  Tiberius  Gracchus   gresses  like  a 
and  his  followers,  the  senate  had  stained  itself  with  blood;   drama, 
thence  it  advanced  to  the  greater  crime  of  killing  Gaius 
Gracchus  and  his  three  thousand  supporters.      This  base 
and  murderous  policy,  further  developed  in  the  war  with 
Jugurtha  and  in  the  events  which  cluster  about  the  Italian 
revolt,  roused  violent  enemies;  and  finally  Marius  appears 
like  an  avenging  Fury  of  the  Gracchan  party,  to  scourge 
the  aristocracy  for  its  enormous  sins. 

Blood  and  violence  settle  nothing;  what  has  seemed 
the  end  of  strife  is  but  the  beginning  of  civil  wars  and 
massacres. 

Meantime  the  province  of  Asia  welcomed   Mithridates 
'  as  a  saviour  from  Roman  avarice;    by  order  of  the  king, 


170 


From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism 


The  first  war   eighty   thousand    Italians    throughout    that    country   were 

V^m^t"    murdered  in  a  single  day.     Greece  revolted  to  him;  his 
dates,  88-84  °  J 

b.c.  armies  occupied  Thrace  and  Macedonia.     Sulla  then  took 

the  field;  and  "within  less  than  three  years  he  had  killed 
a  hundred   and    sixty  thousand    men,   recovered    Greece, 

Appian,  Macedonia,    Ionia,   Asia,   and   many  other  countries  that 

Civil  Wars,     Mithridates  had  previously  occupied,  taken  the  king's  fleet 
i.  76. 


Roman  Soldiers  M  vrching 


away  from  him,  and  from  such  vast  possessions  restricted 
him  to  his  paternal  kingdom  alone."     As  he  saw  that  his 
opponents  at  home  were  revelling  in  power,  he  patched  up 
83  b.c.  a  hasty  treaty  of  alliance  with  the  king,  and  "  returned  with 

a  large  and  well-disciplined  army,  devoted  to  him  and 
elated  by  its  exploits.  He  had  abundance  of  ships,  money, 
and  apparatus  suitable  for  all  emergencies,  and  was  an 
object  of  terror  to  his  enemies."     A  civil  war  broke  out 


Civil  War  171 

between  him  and  the  democratic  party,  which  still  held  the   civil  war  be- 

,  ...  „,.  1  -ii    j   •  tween  Sulla 

government.     At  the  very  beginning,  Cinna  was  killed  in  a   and  the 

mutiny;  and  the  command  of  the  popular  forces  passed  to   democrats. 

Carbo  and  the  son  of  Gaius  Marius  as  consuls. 

Sulla  gained  ground  by  treachery,  corruption,  and  diplo-    The  success 

,  1       r        ■      1  •  j  or  Sulla. 

macy,  as  well  as  by  force;  the  fox  in  him  was  more  danger- 
ous than  the  lion.  In  despair  Carbo  fled  to  Africa;  the  Appian  i.  92. 
young  Marius  was  blockaded  in  Praeneste.  Then  Pontius, 
leader  of  the  Samnites,  who  acted  in  unison  with  the 
popular  party,  with  seventy  thousand  hill-men,  swooped 
down  upon  Rome,  —  "  the  last  blind  rush  of  the  Sabellian  Beesly, 
bull  on  the  lair  of  the  wolves."     They  longed  to  destroy      'auu< 

J  °  J     Marius,  ana 

the  tyrant  city;  but  Sulla  met  them  outside  the  Colline  Sulla,  p.  185. 
Gate,  in  the  fiercest  battle  of  the  war.  Here  the  aristo- 
cratic cause  triumphed;  and  Rome  gained  her  last  victory 
over  Samnium.  Although  in  Africa  Carbo  continued  the 
struggle,  and  in  Spain  Sertorius,  a  far  abler  man,  in  Italy  P.  176. 
Marius  committed  suicide  and  his  party  collapsed.  By 
wholesale  massacres  the  victor  nearly  exterminated  the 
Samnite  race,  and  thus  wrung  from  Italy  the  strength  and 
the  soul  of  freedom. 

The  elder  Marius,  originally  sound,  had  degenerated  in   The  proscrip- 
his  old  age;  Sulla,   though  perhaps  he  cared  for  nothing 
but  pleasure,  showed  himself,  nevertheless,  from  the  begin-   Livy  (epit- 
ning  an  expert  in  cool-headed,  cynical  villany.    When  his   p^rch* 
army  had"  given  him  the  mastery  of  Rome,  he  proceeded    Sulla, 30  ft"; 
with   reckless   butchery   to   destrov   the   opponents    of    his   APPian- 

J  '  rl  Civil  liars, 

party.  Day  by  day  he  posted  a  list  of  his  victims —  "the  j  95  ft 
proscribed  "  — ■  whom  any  one  might  slay  and  receive  there- 
for a  reward.  The  goods  of  the  proscribed  were  confis- 
cated, and  their  children  disfranchised.  The  number  of 
persons  thus  murdered  at  Rome  amounted  to  nearly  five 
thousand,  including  many  senators  and  knights.     Though 


Sulla  restores 
the  aristoc- 
racy 


172  From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism 

some  died  for  their  political  attachments,  many  were  the 
victims  of  private  hatred,  and  many  more  were  killed  for 
the  sake  of  their  wealth.  At  the  same  time,  murder  and 
confiscation  were  carried  on  over  all  Italy.  No  one  dared 
shelter  a  victim,  not  even  children  their  parents.  This 
Satanic  law,  while  branding  kindness  and  affection  as 
criminal,  placed  a  premium  upon  malice,  greed,  and 
murder. 

After  a  time  Sulla  assumed  the  dictatorship,   an  office 
long  disused,  and  put  his  hand   to  the  work  of  restoring 

the  aristocratic  consti- 
tution. As  many  sena- 
tors had  perished 
through  war  and  pro- 
scription, he  permitted 
the  tribal  assembly  to 
elect  three  hundred 
new  members  from  his 
partisans  among  the 
knights.  By  enacting 
that  no  measure  should 
be  brought  before  the 
people  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  senate,  — 
a  repeal  of  the  Horten- 
sian  Law,  —  he  gave 
that  body  control  over 
the  assemblies.  This 
measure,  with  another 
which  disqualified  the 
tribunes  from  holding 
higher  offices,  rendered  the  tribunate  impotent  and  unat- 
tractive to  the  ambitious.     As  a  consequence  the  assembly 


••  Sulla  " 

(Vatican  Museum,   Rome.) 


Sulla  1 73 

of  tribes  became  insignificant  as  compared  with  that  of  the 
centuries. 

He   increased  the  number  of  quaestors  and  made  this   The  courts 
office  the  regular  stepping-stone  to  the  senate.     Instead  of   *"rateg mag 
six  praetors  there  were  to  be  eight,  two  of  whom  were  still   P.  130. 
to  have  the  civil  jurisdiction,  while  the  remaining  six  were 
to   preside  over    criminal    courts,    several    of   which   were 
newly  created.    The  juries  of  these  courts  were  to  be  made 
up  wholly  of  senators,  as  before  the  time  of  Gaius  Gracchus.    P.  156. 
A  man  had  to  be  quaestor  before  he  could  be  praetor,  and   Pp.  86, 139. 
praetor  before  consul,  and  he  was  not  permitted  to  accept 
the  same  office  within  ten  years.     The  praetors  and  the  con- 
suls   could    hold    military  commands  only  in    exceptional 
cases;  their  authority,   wholly  civil,   was  limited  to   Italy 
south  of  the  Rubicon.    But  on  the  expiration  of  their  office,    p.  130. 
they  became  promagistrates  with  military  authority  for  an 
additional  year  in  the  provinces. 

On  lands  made  vacant  in  Italy  by  war,   massacre,  and   The  retire- 
proscription,  Sulla  settled  his  hundred  and  twenty  thousand   death  of 
devoted  veterans;  and  for  his  personal  security  he  enfran-    Sulla, 
chised  ten  thousand  slaves  of  the  proscribed,  and  named 
them  all,  after  himself,  Cornelii.     After  completing  these 
arrangements,  he  abdicated  the  dictatorship,  to  the  surprise 
of  all,  and  retired  to  private  life»and  to  the  enjoyment  of 
literature.     Soon  afterward  he  died,  and  was  buried  with 
pomp  and  splendor  such  as  nations  rarely  display  in  honor 
even  of  their  kings. 

His  increase  in  the  number  of  courts  and  of  magistrates   The  character 
was  demanded  by  the  growing  business  of  government.    °      n*!s 
This  reform,   therefore,    remained   permanent.      The   dis- 
tinction, too,  between  the  civil  magistrates  and  the  military 
promagistrates,   between    Italy   and    the   provinces,   was  a 
great  gain,  afterward  emphasized  by  the  imperial  govern- 


174  From  Plutocracy  to  Militarism 

ment.  In  most  other  respects,  his  legislation  was  in  the 
interest  of  his  party,  and  he  furnished  no  guarantee  for  its 
continuance.  Indeed,  his  own  example  of  an  individual 
exercising  absolute  power  with  reckless  cruelty  was  prece- 
dent enough  for  the  overthrow  of  this  very  constitution. 
Aristocracy  and  democracy  were  now  alike  impossible. 
Perhaps  he  knew  this,  and  expected  his  work  to  be  but 
temporary, — to  permit  him  a  few  years  of  quiet  enjoy- 
ment. However  that  may  be,  he  was  not  yet  in  his  grave 
when  his  artificial  government,  built  upon  so  much  blood, 
began  to  totter. 

Sources 

Reading.  Sa\\ast,Jugurthine  War ;  Livy  (epitome)  lviii-xc;   Appian,  Foreign 

Wars,  xii.  I— 67  ;  Civil  Wars,  i.  7-108;  Plutarch,  77.  Gracchus  ;  G. 
Gracchus;  Marius ;  Sulla;  Sertorius  ;  Lucullus ;  Crassus;  Pompey  ; 
Velleius  Paterculus  ii.  2-28  ;  Florus  iii.  14-21  ;  Justin  xxxvi.  4  ff ; 
Lutropius  iv.  26-v.  9  ;  Dio  Cassius,  Fragments,  83  ff.  (no  English  trans- 
lation).    Cf.  Botsford,  Story  of  Rome,  ch.  vii. 

Modern  Works 

Pelham,  Outlines  of  Roman  History,  bk.  IV.  chs.  i,  iii  ;  Shuckburgh, 
History  of  Rome,  chs.  xxxiv-xl  ;  How  and  Leigh,  History  of  Rome, 
chs.  xxxiii-xliv  ;  Taylor,  Constitutional  and  Political  History  of  Rome, 
chs.  ix-xi  ;  Ihne,  History  of  Rome,  bk.  VII  (entire);  Mommsen, 
History  of  Rome,  bk.  IV  (entire);  Duruy,  History  of  Rome  (II,  III), 
chs.  xxxviii-xlvii  ;  Long,  Decline  of  the  Roman  Republic,  I.  chs.  x-xxix  ; 
II.  chs.  i-xxix  ;  Heesly,  Gracchi,  Marius,  and  Sulla  ;  Masom,  Decline 
0/  the  Oligarchy  (tutorial  series);  Freeman,  Historical  Essays,  II: 
Lucius  Cornelius  Sulla. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE  REVOLUTION— (II)  THE  MILITARY  POWER  IN  CON- 
FLICT  WITH   THE   REPUBLIC.      POMPEY,   CLSAR,   AND 

OCTAVIUS  (79-27  B.C.) 

Third  Period  of  the  Republic  —  Second  Epoch 

"  Another  age  in  civil  wars  will  soon  be  spent  and  worn, 
And  by  her  native  strength  our  Rome  be  wrecked  and  overborne, 
That  Rome  the  Marsians  could  not  crush,  who  border  on  our  lands, 
Nor  the  shock  of  threatening  Porsena  with  his  Etruscan  bands, 
Nor  Capua's  strength  that  rivalled  ours,  nor  Spartacus  the  stern, 
Nor  the  faithless  Allobrogian,  who  still  for  change  doth  yearn. 
Ay,  what  Germania's  blue-eyed  youth  quelled  not  with  ruthless  sword, 
Nor  Hannibal  by  our  great  sires  detested  and  abhorred, 
We  shall  destroy  by  impious  hands  imbrued  in  brother's  gore 
And  wild  beasts  of  the  wood  shall  range  our  native  land  once  more." 

Horace,  Epodes,  16. 

By  appealing  to  arms  in  a  political  dispute,  Sulla  had   The  new 
placed  the  military  power  above  the  constitution.     After  thTrevohi-0' 
his  time  the  political  parties  and  the  government  itself   tion. 
were  frequently  at  the  mercy  of  the  generals.     Among  the   P.  168. 
rising  officers  of  the  army  Gnseus  Pompey  seemed  most 
fitted  to  be  the  heir  of  Sulla's  policy  and  the  defender  of 
his  constitution. 

While  still  a  young  man  Pompey  had  raised  an  army  by   p0mPey. 
his  own  means,  and  had  joined  Sulla  in  his  war  upon  the   P.  171. 
democrats.     He  then  went  to  Sicily  to  suppress  the  popu- 
lar party  in  that  island.     There  replying  to  the  complaints  of 
some  Sicilian  allies,  he  sounded  the  keynote  of  the  future 

175 


176 


Militarism  against  the  Republic 


Plutarch, 
Pompey,  10. 


P.  173. 

Cicero, 
Manilian 

Law,  21. 


Sertorius. 

From  82  B.(  . 

> 1  ch, 
Sertorius, 


—  "Do  you  cite  laws  to  us  who  have  our  swords  by  our 
sides?"  When  he  returned  victorious,  Sulla  hailed  him  as 
"the  Great."  Undoubtedly  the  commander  admired  the 
able  officer,  and  at  the  same  time  thought  it  well  to  flatter 
him.  Soon  after  Sulla's  death  Pompey  found  another 
opportunity  to  prove  his  faithfulness  to  his  master;    for 

Lepidus,  consul  in  78  B.C., 
tried  to  do  away  with  the 
new  government,  and  the 
next  year  resorted  to  arms 
against  it.  In  helping  sup- 
press this  rebellion,  Pompey 
distinguished  himself  still 
further  as  a  champion  of 
the  aristocracy  against  the 
democrats.  A  good  general 
was  now  needed  in  Spain; 
and  the  senate,  according  to 
Sulla's  arrangements,  should 
have  sent  thither  as  procon- 
sul a  man  who  had  already 
been  consul.  But  as  it  could 
find  no  able  person  with  this 
qualification,  it  gave  the  pro- 
consulship  to  Pompey,  who 
had  not  filled  even  the  office 
of  qu?estor.  In  violating  the 
constitution  at  one  point  in  order  to  protect  it  at  another, 
the  aristocrats  showed  themselves  wretchedly  incompetent. 
Sertorius,  the  ablest  Roman  of  his  time,  had  already 
ruled  Spain  for  several  years.  He  had  a  senate  of  his  own, 
and  as  successor  to  the  democratic  magistrates  whom  Sulla 
had    overthrown,   he  claimed    to  represent   the   true   gov- 


Pompey  the  Great 

(National  Museum,  Naples;  found 
nt  Pompeii.) 


Pompey  i  JJ 

eminent  of  Rome.      He  was  perhaps  the  first  Roman  to 
sympathize  thoroughly  with  the  governed,   to  make   their 
interests  his  chief  care,  to  give  them  the  genuine  benefits  of 
Latin  civilization.     From  love  and  admiration  the  natives  Appian, 
called  him  Hannibal.     With  the  small  forces  at  his  com- 

1.   112. 

mand    he    routed    the    Roman    armies    sent    against    him, 
including  that  of   Pompey.      Not  till  Sertorius  was  mur- 
dered by  one  of  his  own  generals  did  Pompey  succeed  in  76  b.c. 
putting  an  end  to  the  war. 

Meantime  the  Roman  world  was  drifting   into  anarchy.    Spartacus. 
While  Sertorius  threatened  the  rule  of  the  senate,  Mithri- 
dates,  in  alliance  with  him,  was  again  at  war  in  the  East  ;  at   Pp.  170,  179. 
the  same  time  pirates  swarmed  undisturbed  over  the  whole 
Mediterranean ;    in   Italy  more   than    a  hundred   thousand 
slaves  were   in  revolt.     This   insurrection  was  the  work  of 
Spartacus,  a  gladiator,  who  had  escaped  from  a  "  training 
school  "  in  Capua.    For  two  years  he  defied  Rome  and  over-   73-71  B-c- 
threw  her  armies.    Then  the  praetor  Marcus  Licinius  Crassus,    Plutarch, 
with  eight  legions,  defeated  and  killed  him  and  dispersed  his 
army.     At  the  last  moment  slight  aid  was  given  by  Pompey, 
who  had  just  returned  from  Spain. 

Crassus,  too,  had  joined  Sulla  in  the  civil  war,  and  had    Pompey  and 
amassed  a  colossal  fortune,  chiefly  by  buying  up  the  estates     rassus' con" 
of  the  proscribed.     His  wealth,  together  with  his  success  in 
the  war  with  Spartacus,  brought  him  great  political  influence,   Plutarch, 
and  made  him  a  rival  of  Pompey.     These  two  generals  were      ,'      J 

r    J  °  Crassus,  12. 

eager  for  the  consulship,  and  as  the  senate  hesitated  on  the 
ground  that  Pompey  had  not  yet  been  quaestor  or  praetor, 
they  turned  for  support  to  the  people,  promising  them  a- 
repeal  of  Sulla's  constitutional  laws.  Elected  consuls  in 
70  B.C.,  they  restored  the  power  of  the  tribunes  ;  they 
divided  the  juries  equally  among  the  senators,  knights,  and  P.  173. 
tribal  officers  ;  and  under  their  influence  the  censors  of  the 

N 


Crassus, 
8-11. 


178  Militarism  against  tJic  Republic 

year  purged  the  senate  of  some  of  the  worst  partisans  of 
Sulla.  Thus  the  aristocratic  government,  after  standing  but 
ten  years,  was  overthrown  by  the  man  its  founder  had  styled 
"  the  Great."  This  was  a  victory,  not  so  much  of  the  de- 
mocracy, as  of  the  army  ;  for  the  tribunes  when  restored 
began  to  attach  themselves  to  the  service  of  the  great  mili- 
tary leaders. 
Character  oi  Pompey  was  a  better  Marius.  A  talented  commander, 
Pompey.  honest  and  humane,  he  was  no  statesman.      Conservative 

on  principle,  he  had  aided  the  new  democratic  movement 
without  taking  the  lead  of  it.  Hence,  as  he  had  no  party 
at  his  back,  he  was  compelled,  at  the  end  of  his  consulship, 
to  retire  to  private  life.  Attached  to  the  aristocratic  con- 
stitution as  a  whole,  yet  neglectful  of  its  details,  in  politics 
P.  160.  he  represented  the  military  power  now  sleeping,  but  soon 

to  awaken  at  the  call  of  a  tribune. 
The  Gabinian       The  pirates  in  their  thousand  ships  were  seizing  cities, 
Law,  67  k.c.     capturjng  Roman  nobles  and  magistrates,  whom  they  held 
Plutarch,         for  ransom,  and  by  cutting  off  the  grain  supply  were  threat- 
Pompey,  24.      enjng  Rome  with  famine.     As  the  senate  seemed  powerless 
to  check  the   evil,  Gabinius,  a  tribune,  proposed  to  give 
Pompey  for  three  years  absolute  command  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean together  with  a  strip  of  its  coast,  fifty  miles  wide, 
as  far  as  the  Roman  empire  extended.      He  was  to  have  a 
vast  number  of  ships  and  men  and  could  draw  on  the  treas- 
ury without   limit.      Though  the  senate  opposed    the   law 
because  it  gave  so  much  power  to  one  man,  the  people  car- 
ried it  with  enthusiasm.     Within  forty  days  after  his  arma- 
ment was  ready,  Pompey  cleared  the  sea  of  pirates.     He 
destroyed  their  hive  in  Cilicia  and  made  of  that  country 
a  Roman  province.      This  success  is  an  indication,  not  of 
genius,  but  of  what  Rome  could  accomplish  with  her  vast 
resources  rightly  managed.     The  appointment  itself  was  an 


Mithridates  1 79 

admission  that  the  senate  was  unable  to  meet  the  trivial 
emergency  of  putting  down  the  pirates ;  a  temporary  mon- 
archy had  to  be  created  for  the  purpose,  or  rather  a  division 
of  power  between  the  senate  and  the  commander.  This 
arrangement,  which  we  may  term  a  dyarchy  —  rule  of  two  —  p.  210. 
was  to  become  the  chief  principle  of  the  imperial  govern- 
ment. 

For  several  years  Lucullus,  a  luxurious  noble,  had  been   Mithridates. 
conducting  the  war  against  Mithridates,  king  of  Pontus,  with    P.  177. 
moderate    success.      This   king  was  a  remarkable    person. 
"  He  was   always    high-spirited    and    indomitable    even    in 
misfortunes.     Until  finally  overthrown  he  left  no  avenue  of 
attack  against  the  Romans  untried.     He  made  alliances  with   Appian,  For- 

the  Samnites  and  the  Gauls,  and  he  sent  legates  to  Serto-   c'8.n 

°  xu.  112. 

rius  in  Spain.  Though  he  was  often  wounded  by  enemies 
and  conspirators,  he  never  desisted  from  anything  on  that 
account,  even  when  he  was  an  old  man.  .  .  .  He  was  blood- 
thirsty and  cruel  to  all  —  the  slayer  of  his  mother,  his 
brother,  three  sons,  and  three  daughters.  His  frame  was 
large  .  .  .  and  so  strong  that  he  rode  horseback  and  hurled 
the  javelin  to  the  last,  and  could  ride  a  thousand  furlongs 
a  day,  changing  horses  at  intervals.  He  used  to  drive  a 
chariot  with  sixteen  horses  at  once.  In  his  study  of  Greek, 
he  became  acquainted  with  the  religious  worship  of  Greece, 
and  was  fond  of  music."  Before  Lucullus  could  conquer  TheManiiian 
him,  a  law  of  the  tribune  Manilius  gave  the  command  in  the   Law'  66  B-C" 

'  &  Cicero,  Ma- 

East  to  Pompey  in  addition  to  the  power  he  already  had.   ninan  Law. 
The    new  Roman  commander  easily  drove    the   king  from 
Pontus,  the  most  of  which  he  joined  to  the  new  province  of 
Bithynia. 

He  then  annexed  Syria  as  a  province  to  the  empire,  thus  Pompey's 
extending  the  dominion  of  Rome  to  the  Euphrates.     Tak-   "   East 
ing  advantage  of  a  civil  war  in  Judea,  he  subdued  that  coun- 


1 8o 


Militarism  against  the  Republic 


The  conspir- 
acy of  Cati- 
line, 63  B.C. 


Plutarch, 
Cicero. 
Cicero,  Ora- 
tions against 
Catiline  ; 
Suetonius, 
J.  Ccesar,  9 ; 
Appian, 
Civil  Wars, 
ii.  2-7. 

Sallust,  < 'ati- 
line,  5. 


try ;  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  he  entered  the  Holy  of 
Holies  and  looked  with  wonder  upon  this  shrine  which  con- 
tained no  image.  He  left  undisturbed  a  few  small  kingdoms 
in  and  about  Asia  Minor,  whose  rulers  though  allies  in 
name  were  really  vassals  of  Rome.  With  the  great  Parthian 
empire  beyond  the  Euphrates,  he  made  a  treaty  of  friend- 
ship. Like  Alexander  the  Great  he  founded  many  cities, 
whose  Greek  names  show  he  intended  that  Hellenic  civiliza- 
tion should  control  Rome's  Eastern  possessions.  His  care- 
ful organization  of  the  newly  acquired  territory  remained 
the  basis  of  future  arrangements.  With  her  dependent  allies 
and  her  provinces,  Rome  now  occupied  the  entire  circuit  of 
the  Mediterranean. 

In  the  absence  of  Pompey,  important  events  were  taking 
place  at  Rome.  Cicero,  a  native  of  Arpinum,  the  birth- 
place of  Marius,  became  consul  in  63  B.C.  Though  he  was 
from  a  municipium  and  a  man  of  moderate  means,  his 
brilliant  oratory  and  his  administrative  ability  won  for  him 
the  highest  offices  at  Rome.  In  his  consulship  a  conspiracy, 
which  for  some  time  had  been  forming  on  a  vast  scale,  threat- 
ened to  destroy  the  government.  The  leader,  "  Lucius  Cati- 
line, was  a  man  of  noble  birth  and  of  eminent  mental  and 
personal  endowments,  but  of  a  vicious  and  depraved  dispo- 
sition. His  delight  from  his  youth  had  been  in  civil  com- 
motions, bloodshed,  robbery,  and  sedition  j  and  in  such 
scenes  he  had  spent  his  early  years.  His  constitution  could 
endure  hunger,  want  of  sleep,  and  cold  to  a  degree  surpass- 
ing belief.  His  mind  was  daring,  subtle,  and  versatile, 
capable  of  pretending  or  dissembling  whatever  he  wished. 
Covetous  of  other  men's  property,  he  was  prodigal  of  his 
own.  With  abundance  of  eloquence,  he  had  little  wisdom. 
His  insatiable  ambition  was  always  pursuing  extravagant, 
romantic,  and    unattainable    objects."      This   picture    by  a 


Cicero 


1S1 


contemporary  writer,  though  overdrawn,  shows  at  least  the 
kind  of  character  the  age  could  produce,  —  high  personal 
and  mental  endowments  combined  with  monstrous  moral 
depravity.  He  attached  to  himself  the  most  vicious  and 
desperate  men  of  Italy  :  the  remnant  of  the  Marian  party, 
who  sought  justice   for  the   murders  and  confiscations  of 


Cicero 

(Vatican  Museum,  Rome.) 

Sulla ;  the  tools  of  that  great  aristocrat,  now  out  of  employ- 
ment ;  his  veterans,  who  had  abandoned  their  farms  in 
search  of  more  exciting  and  more  profitable  work ;  and 
lastly,  delinquent  debtors,  gamblers,  and  assassins.  While 
the  head  of  the  conspiracy  was  at  Rome,  its  members 
extended  throughout  the  peninsula.     When  these  anarchists 


I  82 


Militarism  against  the  Republic 


P.  1^8,  n.  i. 


The  policy  of 
Cicero 


P.  86. 

Plutarch, 

Cicero,  49. 


P.  168. 


Gaius  Julius 
Caesar. 

Plutarch, 
Casai . 


had  their  plans  well  laid  for  killing  the  magistrates  and  the 
nobles  and  for  seizing  the  government,  the  vigilant  consul 
detected  their  plot  and  denounced  Catiline  before  the  sen- 
ate. The  arch-conspirator  fled  to  the  army  he  had  been 
preparing  in  Etruria,  where  he  was  soon  afterward  defeated 
and  killed.  Cicero  arrested  a  few  of  Catiline's  chief  asso- 
ciates who  remained  in  the  city,  and  by  virtue  of  the  dicta- 
torial power  given  him  by  the  senate,  put  them  to  death 
without  a  trial. 

His  success  in  saving  the  state  from  the  anarchists  made 
Cicero  for  a  time  the  most  eminent  man  in  Rome.  From 
mingled  admiration  and  gratitude  the  people  saluted  him 
Father  of  his  Country  ;  and  though  he  was  a  "  new 
man,"  the  senators  recognized  him  as  their  leader.  He 
loved  his  country  well,  and  was  strongly  attached  to  the 
republican  form  of  government.  Flence  he  attempted  to 
strengthen  the  republic  by  restoring  to  the  knights  and  the 
senators  the  harmony  Gaius  Gracchus  had  broken.  Such  a 
remedy,  even  if  practicable,  could  not  long  have  saved  the 
corrupt  aristocracy.  And  in  attempting  to  compromise  the 
high  ideals  of  the  statesman  with  the  base  practice  of  poli- 
ticians, Cicero  found  himself  carried  hither  and  thither  by 
the  shifting  and  uncertain  political  currents.  Such  in  fact 
had  become  the  condition  of  public  affairs  that  the  states- 
man, however  grand,  appears  strangely  dwarfed  and  out  of 
place  ;  for  the  age  of  generals  had  come,  they  were  the 
only  strong  men  and  managed  the  politicians  as  their  pup- 
pets. It  was  in  vain,  therefore,  that  Cicero  hoped  to  make 
Pompey  a  defender  of  the  constitution. 

The  future  was  to  belong  not  to  Cicero  or  even  to  Pom- 
pey, but  to  Gaius  Julius  Caesar.  He  "was  still  a  young 
man,  but  powerful  in  speech  and  action,  daring  in  every 
way,    ambitious   of    everything,    and    profuse   beyond   his 


First  Triumvirate  183 

means  in  the  pursuit  of  honors.  While  yet  aedile  and  Suetonius, 
praetor,  he  had  incurred  great  debts  and  had  made  himself  7'  C(Esar- 
wonderfully  agreeable  to  the  multitude,    who  always  sing   Appian, 

....  .  „  Civil  Wars, 

the  praises  of  those  who  are  lavish  in  expenditures.       One   H  r 

of   the   noblest   of    the   patricians,    he  was    leader  of  the 

people,  and  in  that  capacity  he  restored  to  honor  his  uncle 

Marius,  now  the  idealized  hero  of  the  commons.     While 

advocating  the  rights  of  the  governed,  however,  he  aimed 

to  secure  a  military  command  like  that  of  Pompey;  and 

in  working  for  this  end  he  showed  little  regard  for  moral 

or  constitutional  principles.     For  the  present   he    joined 

himself  to  Crassus,  whose  wealth,  ambition,  and  political 

incapacity  he  found  useful. 

All  were  anxiously  awaiting  the  return  of  Pompey  from   The  First 

the  East.     While  both  parties  claimed  him,  some  feared   J^™* 

he  might  overthrow  the  government  by  means  of  his  army   Pompey,  and 

Crassus, 

and  make  himself  dictator,  as  Sulla  had  done.     For  a  time   6o  BC 
he  seems  to  have  entertained  this  idea;  but  his  affection   Appian, 
for  the  constitution,  together  with  a  belief  that  his  influ-    Ctml  Uars' 

°  ii.  9;  Plu- 

ence  alone  would  bring  him  all  the  honor  and  power  he   tarch  c 


cesar. 


needed,  led  him  to  disband  his  army  and  come  to  Rome    13  f;  Sueto- 
as  a  private  citizen.     But  he  was  bitterly  disappointed.    "^    f 
The  senate,  which  had  always  distrusted  him,  hesitated  to    P  Y]1 
sanction  his  arrangements  in  the  East.     The  great  general 
found  himself  as  helpless  in  politics  as  Marius  had  been. 
Thereupon  Caesar  and  Crassus  came  to  his  relief  with  a 
proposal  that  they  three  should  act  together  for  their  mutual 
interests.      This  combination   of   the  three  men,   though 
unofficial,  is  called  the  First  Triumvirate.     Pompey  con- 
tributed to  it  his  military  prestige,  Crassus  the  influence 
of  his  wealth,  and  Caesar  his  commanding   intelligence. 
According  to  agreement  Caesar  received  the  consulship  in 
59  B.C.,  and  in  return  secured  from  the  people  the  ratifi- 


1 84 


Militarism  against  tJic  Republic 


Caesar  pro- 
consul of 
Gaul,  58-49 
B.C. 

Suetonius, 
J.  Ccesar, 

22,  24. 


cation  of  Pompey's  Eastern  arrangements.  The  tribune 
Clodius,  acting   as   the  tool   of   the    triumvirs  or  at  least 

58  b.c.  under    their   protection,  carried   a   decree    for   the   ban- 

ishment of  Cicero,  the  strongest  supporter  of  the  republic, 
on  the  ground  that  in  his  consulship  he  had  put  citizens  to 
death  without  a  trial.  The  people  soon  recalled  him,  how- 
ever, and  restored  him  to  honor. 

At  the  close  of  his  term,  Caesar  as  proconsul  received  for 
five  years  the  government  of  Cisalpine  Gaul,  Narbonensis, 
and  Illyricum.  He  now  held  the  kind  of  position  for 
which  he  had  long  been  striving.  Before  the  end  of  his 
period  of  government  the  triumvirs  renewed  their  alliance.1 
Caesar  was  to  have  five  more  years  of  command  in  Gaul; 
Pompey  and  Crassus  were  to  be  consuls  in  55  b.c,  after 
which  Pompey  was  to  be  proconsul  of  the  two  Spains  and 
of  Africa  for  five  years,  and  Crassus  was  to  receive  the  pro- 
consulship  of  Syria.  In  this  way  these  men  divided  among 
them  the  Roman  world. 

In  the  history  of  the  First  Triumvirate  the  interest 
centres  in  Caesar.  Along  the  southern  coast  of  what  is  now 
France,  lay  Narbonensis.  North  of  this  province  were  the 
still  unconquered  Gauls,  chiefly  of  Celtic  race,  extending 
northward  and  westward  to  the  coasts  and  eastward  to  the 
Rhine.  In  civilization  these  people  were  decidedly  infe- 
rior to  the  Romans,  but  had  learned  to  make  their  living 
chiefly  by  tilling  the  soil.  East  of  the  Rhine  were  the 
barbarous,   half-nomadic   Germans.      A  crisis   in   Rome's 

P.  162.  relation  with  these  Northern  peoples  was  now  at  hand,  like 

that  with  which  Marius  had  successfully  grappled.  A 
powerful  German  tribe  under  the  chieftain  Ariovistus  had 
crossed  the   Rhine   and   had    seized   some    lands   of    the 


The  Germans 
and  the  Hel- 
vetians 
threaten 
Rome. 

Caesar,  Com- 
mentaries on 
the  Gallic 
War. 

Suetonius, 
y.  Ccesar,  25. 


1  In  a  conference  held  in  56  B.C.  at  Luca,  in  northern  Italy. 


Ccesar  in  Gaul  185 

Gauls.  This  movement  was  but  the  beginning  of  a  Ger- 
man migration,  which  if  unchecked  would  have  thrown 
Gaul  into  commotion,  and  might  have  brought  both  Ger- 
man and  Celtic  hordes  into  Narbonensis  and  even  into 
Italy.  A  more  direct  menace  to  Rome  came  from  the 
Helvetians,  a  great  Celtic  tribe  of  the  Alps,  who  were 
abandoning  their  home  in  the  mountains  for  the  broader 
and  more  fertile  lands  of  southern  Gaul. 

Caesar,  who  at  this  time  had  had  little   experience   in   cssar  repels 
command,    thus   found    himself   confronted   by  enormous  ^conquers 
difficulties  and   dangers.      But   the    ease   with   which   he   Gaul, 
overcame  everything  in  his  way  marked  him  at  once  as  a   Plutarch, 
great  master  of  the  art  of  war.     With  wonderful  rapidity  he    Ca 
gathered  his  widely  scattered  forces,  enrolled  new  legions, 
and  inspired  his  raw  recruits  with  the  courage  and  devotion 
of  veterans.    He  immediately  defeated  the  Helvetians  with 
great  slaughter,  and  drove  the  remnant  of  their  host  back  to 
their  former  home.     In  the  same  summer  he  won  a  great 
victory  over  the  Germans  and  compelled  them  to  recross 
the   Rhine.      In  the   following  year,   as  the   Belgians   of 
northern  Gaul  threatened  to  give  him  trouble,  he  resolved 
to  subdue  them.     In  the  invasion  of  their  country  he  met  c^sar,  Gai- 
little  opposition  till  he  came  to  the  Nervii,  the  most  war-   l,c  Uar> 

ii.  16  ft. 

like  and  the  most  powerful  of  the  Belgic  tribes.  These 
people  would  have  nothing  of  Roman  traders  in  wine  and 
other  luxuries,  for  they  wished  to  keep  their  strength  intact 
and  their  martial  fire  alive.  While  Caesar  was  approaching 
they  fell  upon  him  so  fiercely  that  he  could  neither  form 
his  line  nor  give  orders.  Each  soldier  was  left  to  his  own 
judgment.  But  the  cool  courage  of  the  legionaries  and  the 
heroism  of  the  commander  won  the  desperate  fight.  Few 
Nervii  survived.  As  a  result  of  the  campaign  all  northern 
Gaul  submitted.     Next  year  he  attacked  the  Veneti,  who   lb.  iii.  7  ff. 


i86 


Militarism  against  the  Republic 


Value  of  the 
conquest. 


Adams, 
Frerti  h  Na- 
tion, p.  18. 

Caesar's  mag 
nincent  out- 
look. 

!'.  176. 


occupied  a  strip  of  the  western  coast.  A  maritime  people, 
they  built  their  towns  on  headlands  protected  on  all  sides 
by  tide  waters  too  shallow  for  Roman  ships.  They  them- 
selves put  to  sea  in  clumsy  flat-bottomed  boats  with  leathern 
sails.  Caesar  made  little  progress  against  them  till  his  small, 
light  fleet  met  their  bulky  navy  in  the  open  sea.  A  happy 
thought  occurred  to  the  Romans.  With  scythes  fastened  to 
long  poles  they  cut  the  enemy's  tackle  so  as  to  disable  his 
ships.  Victory  was  then  easy;  the  Veneti  with  their  allies 
submitted. 

In  the  remaining  years  of  his  command  Caesar  drove 
back  another  horde  of  Germans;  to  check  their  inroads  he 
twice  invaded  their  country.  His  two  voyages  to  Britain 
prepared  the  way  for  the  future  conquest  of  that  island. 
It  was  necessary,  too,  to  crush  fierce  rebellions  among  his 
new  subjects;  but  though  his  conquest  spread  desolation 
and  death  over  the  entire  country,  in  the  end  his  just  and 
humane  settlement  of  affairs  attached  the  subjects  loyally 
to  him.  All  Gaul,  at  first  under  one  governor,  afterward 
became  four  provinces.  It  gave  new  strength  to  Rome 
and  protected  the  Rhine  frontier  against  the  dangerous 
Germans.  The  new  subjects  readily  learned  Latin  and 
adopted  the  Roman  dress  and  customs.  Many  years  after- 
ward the  youths  of  the  empire  attended  the  Gallic  schools 
to  study  rhetoric,  — "  to  learn  the  language  of  the  con- 
querors from  the  conquered!  History  has  not  many  cases 
of  this  sort  to  record." 

Caesar's  long  command  gave  him  an  army  devoted  to 
his  cause  and  a  new  recruiting  ground,  for  he  had  already 
enrolled  a  legion  of  Gauls.  Like  Sertorius  he  learned  to 
seek  his  own  interest  in  the  welfare  of  the  governed.  Far 
from  limiting  his  benevolence  to  his  own  provinces  and  to 
Rome,  he  began  to  furnish  the  larger  cities  of  Italy,  Spain, 


C&sar  and  Pompey  187 

Greece,  and  Asia  with  money  for  public  works.  At  his 
distance  from  the  capital  he  saw,  too,  how  petty  was  the 
game  of  politics  in  the  Forum  compared  with  the  states- 
man's work  of  developing  the  prosperity  and  the  happiness 
of  the  provinces. 

Most  politicians  at  Rome  thought  of  a  province  as  noth-   End  of  eras- 
ing but  a  plundering  ground,  or,  more  recently,  as  a  means   champion^T 
of  acquiring  a  military  command.     Accordingly  Crassus,    the  senate. 
at  the  end  of  his  consulship,  went  to  Syria,  his  province,    P.  184. 
in  the  hope  of  raising  an  army  with  which  to  rival  Pompey 
and  Caesar.     With  this  end  in  view  he  began  a  needless 
war  upon  the  Parthians,   but  was  defeated  and  killed  by   53  b.c 
them  at  Carrhae.      Pompey,  for  his  part,  instead  of  going     „uarc  ' 
to  his  provinces  as  the  law  required,   administered  them    18-28. 
through  deputies  —  an  example  afterward  converted  into  a    P.  209. 
rule  by  the  emperors.      He  remained  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Rome  to  preserve  order;  and  as  the  senate  was  of  itself 
unable  to  prevent  anarchy  in  the  city,  it  made  him  sole 
consul  in  52   B.C.,  and  prolonged  his  proconsulship  five 
years.     The  aristocrats  now  looked  to  him  for  protection 
from  the  mighty  governor  of  Gaul,   who  represented  the 
people. 

Pompey  had  married  Caesar's  daughter   Julia;    and  as   cssarand 
lonsj  as  she  lived  the  two  leaders  remained  friends.     Her     omPey 

°  clash, 

death,  however,  broke  the  only  bond  which  united  them.    Suetonius, 

A  clash  between  them,  and  between  the  parties  they  repre-   J-  Casar< 

26  ft. 
sented,  was  inevitable.     Though  for  the  sake  of  harmony 

Caesar  was  willing  to  concede  everything  short  of  self- 
annihilation,  the  senate  was  unbending.  As  his  enemies 
threatened  to  prosecute  him  when  he  should  become  a 
private  citizen,  he  wished  to  pass  immediately  from  the 
proconsulship  of  Gaul,  ending  49  B.C.,  to  the  consulship  at 
Rome,  48  B.C.     A  law  of  the  tribunes  gave  him  permission 


1 88 


Militarism  against  the  Republic 


P.  210. 


Caesar  crosses 
the  Rubicon, 
49  B.C. 

Plutarch, 
Ccesar,  32 ; 
Suetonius, 
y.  Ccesar, 

31-33- 


Civil  war; 
the  battle  of 
Pharsalus, 
48  li.C. 

Caesar, 
Civil  War, 
iii   73  ff. 


to  become  a  candidate  for  the  consulship  without  appearing 
in  person  according  to  custom.  Nevertheless  in  49  b.c. 
the  senate  ordered  him  to  lay  down  his  command  on  pain 
of  being  declared  a  public  enemy.  When  the  tribunes, 
Mark  Antony  and  Quintus  Cassius,"  vetoed  this  decree, 
they  were  harshly  treated,  and  fled  thereupon  to  Caesar's 
camp.  In  violating  the  sanctity  of  the  tribunes  —  the 
mainstay  of  the  constitution  —  the  nobles  were  preparing 
their  own  ruin,  as  their  act  gave  Caesar  a  pretext  for  bring- 
ing his  army  to  Rome  to  protect  the  sacred  office.  It  is  a 
noteworthy  fact  that  the  tribunate  and  the  proconsulship, 
thus  united  against  the  senate,  were  to  become  the  two 
chief  bases  of  the  imperial  government. 

The  story  is  told  that  at  the  Rubicon,  which  separated 
his  province  from  Italy,  Caesar  hesitated  while  he  dis- 
cussed with  his  friends  the  consequences  of  crossing,  like 
an  invader,  into  Italy  and  of  thus  making  himself  an 
enemy  to  his  country;  then  exclaiming,  "The  die  is  cast!  " 
he  hurried  over  the  river,  and  with  a  trumpet  summoned 
his  troops  to  follow.  Although  the  anecdote  may  not  be 
true,  the  crossing  of  the  Rubicon  was  a  crisis  in  the  life  of 
Caesar  and  in  the  history  of  his  country;  for  by  bringing 
his  army  into  Italy  in  violation  of  the  law,  he  began  a  war 
upon  the  republic. 

Pompey,  with  the  consuls  and  many  senators,  retired  to 
the  East,  where  he  expected  his  great  influence  to  bring 
him  abundance  of  supporters  and  of  resources  for  war. 
Caesar  immediately  secured  control  of  Italy  and  Spain. 
His  gentleness  to  opponents  and  his  moderation  in  reliev- 
ing distressed  debtors  and  in  protecting  property  won  the 
hearts  of  all  quiet  citizens,  and  made  even  many  followers 
of  Pompey  suspect  that  they  had  taken  the  wrong  side. 
After  setting  up  a  government   at    Rome,   Caesar  crossed 


Civil  War  189 

to  Greece  and  met  his  rival  at  Pharsalus,  in  Thessaly. 
Although  in  appearance  Pompey  championed  the  senate, 
the  real  question  at  issue  was  which  of  the  two  commanders  i>.  168 
should  rule  the  Roman  world.  It  was  a  conflict,  too, 
between  the  East  and  the  West  as  to  which  should  hold  the 
balance  of  power  in  the  empire.  Pompey's  army  outnum- 
bered the  enemy  more  than  two  to  one;  but  the  mental 
resources  of  Caesar,  together  with  the  superior  manliness 
of  the  Western  troops,  won  the  day.  Pompey  fled  to  Egypt; 
and  when  Caesar  reached  Alexandria  in  pursuit,  a  would-be 
friend  brought  him  the  head  of  his  murdered  rival.  It 
was  no  welcome  gift  to  the  noble  victor. 

In  Egypt,  King  Ptolemy  had  deposed  Cleopatra,  at  once   Caesar  in 
his  wife  and  sister.     But  Caesar,  siding  with  the  charming  ^^'BC 
queen,  established  her  as  sole  monarch.     Then  while  pass-    Hirtius(?), 
ing  through  Syria  and  Asia  Minor  he  settled  the  affairs  of   A^™»df>a" 
the  provinces,  and  in  one  battle  crushed  Pharnaces,  son    Defeat  of 
and  successor  of  Mithridates,   thus  putting  an  end  to  a   Pharnaces, 
dangerous  enemy.     After   the. victory  he   sent   the  senate   47 
this  brief  despatch,  —  "  I  came,  I  saw,  I  conquered  —  vent,    Battle  of 
vidi.  via."     Another  year  he  defeated  the  senatorial  army   ThaPsus' 

'  J  46  B.C. 

at  Thapsus  in  Africa.     One  of  the  aristocratic  commanders 

in  that  region  was  Cato, — honest,   loyal,   and  stubborn, 

yet   narrow-minded   as   had   been    his    great-grandfather, 

the  famous  censor.     In  despair  of  the  republic,  he  killed    Battle  of 

himself.  •  Soon  afterward  the  victory  at  Munda  in  Spain 

destroyed  the  last  opposition  to  Caesar. 

His  wars  were  ended;  for  the  first  time  in  history  the   The  character 

of  Caesar. 

world  of  the  ancients,  extending  from  the  Euphrates  to 
the  Atlantic,  bowed  to  one  will.  It  remains  to  examine 
the  character  of  the  victor  and  the  manner  in  which  he 
used  his  power. 

"He  was  tall  and  fair,  round-limbed,  rather  full-faced, 


190 


Militarism  against  the  Republic 


Suetonius, 
J.  Ctssar, 

45- 


with  piercing  black  eyes."     The  massive  brow,  and  nose 
shaped  like  an  eagle's  beak,  show  great  intellect  combined 


Julius  ( '  es \k 

(British    Museum.) 


with  force.      "The  expression  of  the  face  is  keen,  thought- 
ful,  and  somewhat  stern.     It  is  the  likeness  of  a  severe 


Ccesar  191 

schoolmaster  of   the   world."      Though   in    youth    he    had  Fowler, 

indulged  in  the  follies  and  the  dissipation  of  the  young  ,"'""  „  To 

nobles,   though   in  early  manhood   he  had   been  a  dema-  describing  a 

gogue,  a  spendthrift,  and  debtor,  he  emerged  from  these  bustofCaesar 

&    &      >  1  °  in  the  British 

corrupting  influences  with  a  clear  head  and  a  good  heart.  Museum. 
It  is  true  that  he  had  extorted  money  from  the  provincials 
and  had  sometimes  been  cruel  to  prisoners,  but  mildness 
and  humanity  grew  in  him  till  his  noble  sympathy  encom- 
passed the  world.  A  many-sided  man,  he  was  in  every 
respect  great.  He  interested  himself  in  grammar,  in  natu- 
ral science,  and  astronomy.  His  story  of  his  own  cam- 
paigns is  a  model  historical  narrative,  —  plain,  accurate,  Caesar,  Com- 
and  elegant,   with  no  affectation   of   rhetorical   ornament.    ment"rie- !  on 

0  the  Gallic 

The  simple  force  of  his  oratory  made  him  the  most  impres-    Ma/and  on 
sive  speaker  of  his  age.     Taking  command  in  Gaul  when   the  L,vd 

War. 

above  forty  years  old,  with  little  previous  experience,  he 
showed  an  energy,  courage,  coolness,  and  fertility  of  mind 
which  make  him  perhaps  the  most  marvellous  character  in 
military  history.  Above  all  he  was  a  great  creative  statesman, 
who,  by  arresting  the  decay  of  ancient  civilization,  gave  the 
old  world  institutions  three  centuries  more  of  vigorous  life. 

In  the  settlement  of  the  political  and  civil  troubles  he   Hismodera- 

1  ....  .  .  ,  .     , .      .  tion  and 

aimed  to  heal  old  wounds  without  inflicting  new  ones.  clemency 
He  respected  the  memory  of  Sulla  and  of  Pompey;  he  for- 
gave his  enemies  and  even  advanced  many  of  them  to 
office.  With  too  great  confidence  in  his  fellow-men  he 
dismissed  his  army,  and  walked  in  the  streets  of  Rome 
without  a  guard. 

Caesar  did  not  live  long  enough  to  give  his  government   His  govern- 
a  definite,  permanent  form.     He  held  at  one  and  the  same 
time  the  offices  of  consul,   censor,  and  dictator,  granted 
him  for  long  periods  or  for  life.      He  enjoyed,   too,   the 
authority  of  the  tribunes  without  the  office.     As  pontifex 


192 


Militarism  agai)ist  the  Republic 


maximus  he  was  head  of  the  religion  of  the  empire,  and  as 
a  member  of  the  college  of  augurs  he  represented  the  state 
in  its  relations  with  the  gods.  The  combination  in  his 
own  person  of  the  chief  religious  and  civil  offices  of  the 
republic  made  him  king  in  all  but  name.  In  addition  to 
these  powers  he  bore  the  title  "imperator,"  which  soldiers 
were  accustomed  to  bestow  by  acclamation  upon  a  victori- 
ous general.  Perhaps  Caesar,  too,  thought  of  it  as  a  mere 
honor;  yet  in  belonging  to  him  for  life,  it  marks  him 
as  the  first  emperor  of  Rome.  The  arrangements  here 
described  seem  to  have  been  provisional.  Whatever  form 
his  government  might  have  taken,  it  would  have  been  in 
fact  a  strongly  centralized  monarchy.  Apparently  he 
wished  to  make  his  power  hereditary.  With  this  end  in 
view,  as  he  had  no  nearer  heirs,  he  adopted  as  a  son  his 
grandnephew  Octavius,  a  youth  of  remarkable  talent. 

Although  the  assemblies  continued  to  meet,  Caesar's  exten- 
sive powers  left  them  little  to  do.  The  senate,  that  strong- 
hold of  republicanism,  while  loading  him  with  flattery,  was 
in  secret  his  deadly  foe.  Accordingly  he  degraded  it  to 
the  condition  of  an  advisory  council.  Sulla  had  doubled 
the  number  of  senators;  Caesar  increased  it  to  nine  hun- 
dred by  admitting  not  only  knights  but  also  many  inferior 
citizens  and  even  some  half-barbarous  Gauls.  Probably 
he  wished   in  time  to  make  it  represent  the  whole  empire. 

It  is  in  his  administration  of  the  provinces  that  we  find 

trationofthe    mogt  {Q  commen(i       'p]ie  evjis  0f  aristocratic  oppression, 
provinces.  *  * 

whose  beginnings  are  described  in  an  earlier  chapter,  were 

now  at  their  height.      No  human  mind  can  conceive  the 

brutal  tyranny  of   the  ruling  class  or  the  woe  and  misery 

which   these  polite  aristocrats  had  spread  over  the  whole 

civilized  world.     By  destroying  the  root  of  the  evil,  Caesar 

regenerated  provincial  life.     He  reduced  taxes,  abolished 


His  treat- 
ment of  the 
assemblies 
and  the 
senate. 

P.  172. 


His  adminis- 


P.  130  ft'. 


His  Administration  193 

the  system  of  farming  direct  revenues,  thus  preventing  the 
capitalists  and  the  publicans  from  plundering  the  subject 
races,  and  placed  the  imperial  finances  in  the  hands  of  his 
own  servants  and  freedmen,  over  whom  he  could  exercise 
a  severe  control.  He  saw,  too,  that  the  governorships 
should  be  filled  with  able,  honest  men.  Besides  being- 
judges  and  administrators,  these  rulers  commanded  the  p.  131. 
military  force  in  their  districts  subject  to  the  emperor, 
while  •  each  single  legion  obeyed  an  officer  Caesar  had 
appointed.  The  governor,  surrounded  thus  by  checks 
and  guards,  and  responsible  to  an  exacting  master,  ceased 
to  do  evil  and  devoted  himself  to  the  service  of  the 
emperor,  which  was  at  the  same  time,  the  interest  of  the 
governed.  "  The  estates  of  the  Roman  people, "  as  the  prov- 
inces had  been  called,  were  to  be  cultivated  and  improved, 
no  longer  pillaged.  Passing  beyond  the  idea  of  governing 
for  mere  profit,  Caesar  established  colonies  in  the  prov- 
inces, as  Corinth  and  Carthage,  to  be  centres  from  which 
Roman  civilization  should  radiate;  he  aimed,  also,  to 
extend  the  citizenship  to  the  provincial  towns,  one  by  one, 
till  the  distinction  between  governors  and  governed  should 
be  wiped  out,  and  the  rights  of  the  world  should  be  equal-  p.  270. 
ized  under  a  master  at  once  strong  and  just. 

Even  Rome  and.  Italy  were  in  wretched  plight.      The   msimprove- 
work  of  the  Gracchi  had  been  undone  and  the  gulf  between   ^^^&  in 
the  rich  and  the  poor  widened.     On  the  one  side  were  the   Italy, 
millionaires,  less  than  two  thousand  in  number,  with  their    Pp.  132 f,  134. 
gorgeous  villas  and  their  broad  estates  worked  by  gangs  of   P.  342  f. 
slaves;  on  the  other,  the  miserable  poor,  of  whom  many 
flocked  to  Rome  to  live  as  paupers  on  the  public  doles  of 
grain,  while  some  turned  to  robbery  and  others  even  sold 
themselves  as  gladiators.     As  the  more  enterprising  Italians   P.  346- 
passed  into  the  army  or  into  provincial  business,  the  free 
o 


194 


Militarism  against  the  Republic 


Mommsen, 
Rome,  bk.  V. 
ch.  xi. 


Lex  Julia 
Municipalis, 
45  B.C. 


The  senators 
murder  him. 

Appian, 
Civil  Wars, 
ii.  107-117; 
Plutarch, 
Casar,  60- 
68;  Brutus, 
7-17. 


population  which  remained  was  fast  dying  out.  There  was 
the  utmost  confusion  in  the  government  of  the  towns, 
brigandage  over  all  the  country,  and  in  the  capital  vice 
surpassing  description.  To  be  poor  was  esteemed  "  the 
only  disgrace  and  the  only  crime."  These  evil  conditions 
Csesar  reformed.  He  planted  colonies  in  desolate  places 
and  recruited  the  wasting  population  of  the  towns.  He 
encouraged  agriculture  and  family  life,  and  cut  down  the 
number  of  Roman  paupers  more  than  a  half,  —  to  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand.  His  famous  municipal  law  gave 
the  towns  a  uniform  system  of  free  government,  which 
gradually  extended  itself  to  the  provinces.  He  brought 
new  vigor  to  the  criminal  courts  and  to  the  police,  and 
passed  laws  to  restrict  luxury.  Finally  he  introduced  a 
new  calendar,  which  made  the  year  consist  of  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty-five  days  and  six  hours,  a  system  which 
continued  in  force  to  the  sixteenth  century  a.d. 

Such  were  Caesar's  chief  reforms.  It  is  not  the  storming 
of  cities  nor  the  killing  of  thousands  in  battle  which  com- 
mands our  admiration,  but  rather  the  intelligence  and 
good  will  to  men  which  impelled  him  to  give  the  world 
well-ordered  peace  and  some  degree  of  happiness  which 
should  outlive  his  own  life. 

1 1  is  government  was  in  fact  a  monarchy;  some  suspected 
that  he  desired  even  the  title  of  king.  At  all  events,  he 
was  worthy  of  a  crown;  and  an  hereditary  kingship  would 
have  saved  the  state  from  another  civil  war.  But  the 
aristocrats  could  not  yield  forever  their  own  title  of  lords 
of  the  earth  and  their  privilege  of  misrule.  While  they 
forced  upon  him  honors  such  as  belonged  only  to  the  gods, 
they  began  to  plot  his  murder.  Their  motives  were  envy, 
revenge,  and  political  fanatici-sm.  Chief  among  the  con- 
spirators were  the  "  lean  and  hungry  "  Cassius,  who  prob- 


The  Conspiracy  195 

ably  felt  himself  slighted  in  the  matter  of  promotion,  and 
Marcus  Brutus,  a  weak,  bookish  idealist,  who  in  actual  life 
had  scarcely  more  virtue  than  his  fellow-nobles.  Alto- 
gether there  were  about  sixty  in  the  plot.  As  Caesar  was 
soon  to  leave  Rome  for  a  war  against  the  Parthians,  who 
were  annoying  the  eastern  frontier,  the  conspirators  made 
haste  to  strike  the  blow.  Pretending  to  urge  a  petition  of 
one  of  their  number,  they  gathered  about  him  in  Pompey's 
new  senate-hall  and  assailed  him  with  daggers.  He  fell 
stabbed  with  twenty-three  wounds.  The  senate  dispersed. 
Mark  Antony,  Caesar's  colleague  in  the  consulship,  deliv- 
ered the  funeral  oration  and  read  the  will,  which,  by  its 
generosity  to  the  citzens,  stirred  them  against  the  mur- 
derers. The  most  sincere  mourners,  however,  were  the 
provincials  who  chanced  to  be  in  Rome;  they  wept  over 
the  ashes  of  their  mighty  benefactor,  and  doubtless  dreaded 
the  renewed  anarchy  and  terrorism  of  senatorial  rule. 

"He  died   in   the  fifty-sixth  year  of  his  age,  and  was   He  becomes  a 
ranked  among  the  gods,   not  only  by  formal  decree,  but   g0 
in  the  belief  of  the  people.      For  during  the  first  games   Suetonius, 
which  Augustus,   his   heir,   consecrated  to  his  memory,   a   ?'  Ca  '"'  88- 
comet  blazed  for  seven  days  together,  rising  always  about 
eleven  o'clock;    and   it  was  supposed   to  be   the   soul  of 
Caesar  now  received  into  heaven." 

His  death  left  the  consul,  Mark  Antony,  at  the  head  of  whowiiisuc- 
the  government.  As  executor  of  Caesar's  will,  which  he 
falsified  at  pleasure,  he  managed  Rome  and  the  empire 
with  absolute  power,  while  he  lorded  it  over  the  senate. 
Through  fear  of  him  and  of  the  enraged  populace,  the 
chiefs  of  the  conspirators  hurried  away  to  the  provinces 
Caesar  had  given  them.  Cicero,  who  approved  the  assassi- 
nation though  he  had  no  hand  in  it,  sailed  for  Greece,  but 
was  driven  back  by  a  storm.     Thereupon  he  returned  to 


196 


Militarism  against  the  Republic 


Botsford, 

Greece, 
p.  304. 


Gaius  Julius 
Caesar  Octa- 
vianus. 
Suetonius, 
Augustus. 


The  Second 
Triumvirate. 
43  B.(  • 


Rome  to  take  the  lead  of  the  senate  against  the  new  tyrant. 
In  the  next  few  months  he  delivered  a  series  of  powerful 
invectives  against  Antony,  known  as  the  Philippics,  from 
their  resemblance  to  the  speeches  of  Demosthenes  against 
Philip  of  Macedonia.  But  eloquence  had  ceased  to  be  a 
force  in  the  world.  The  republic  had  perished ;  the  death 
of  the  monarch  was  followed  by  a  war  of  succession,  in 
which  the  adopted  heir  was  to  gain  the  mastery. 

Octavius  was  pursuing  his  studies  at  Apollonia  in  Illyri- 
cum,  when  news  came  of  his  great-uncle's  death.     Though 
his  mother  and  his  friends  warned  him  against  connect- 
ing himself   with    Cresar,    he   started   at  once   for  Rome. 
On  landing  in    Italy  and  learning  that  he  was  heir,    he 
took   the  name   Gaius  Julius    C?esar    Octavianus,  accord- 
ing   to    custom.     The    name    worked    like    a    charm.     As 
he    journeyed    toward    the    capital,    Caesar's   old   soldiers 
flocked  to  him,   offering  him  their  swords  to  avenge  the 
murder.     He  declined    their   proposals  for  the  time  and 
came  almost  alone  to  Rome,  into  the  midst  of   enemies. 
But  he  soon  gained  friends.     By  promising  the  people  all 
their  late  ruler  had  bequeathed  them,  he  readily  won  their 
hearts;   and  for  a  time  he  sided  with  the  senate  against 
Antony.     Deceived  by  his  show  of  frank  simplicity,  Cicero 
declared  that  the  young  Octavianus  was  all  for  the  republic. 
In  fact  this  youth  of  nineteen  years  had  no  enthusiasm  for 
any  cause;  in  cool  cunning  he  outmatched  even  the  politi- 
cal veterans  of  the  capital. 

He  raised  an  army;  and  with  the  new  consuls,  Hirtius 
and  I'ansa,  he  defeated  Antony  at  Mutina,  in  northern 
Italy.  After  this  victory  over  their  dreaded  enemy  the 
aristocrats  felt  that  they  could  now  do  without  the  boy,  but 
he  marched  upon  Rome  and  compel'ul  them  to  make  him 
consul,  for  Hirtius  and  Pansa  had  both  been  killed  in  the 


PS 

a 

OS 

< 
T 

o 

a, 

6? 

Z 

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B 

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EU 

Ui 

— 

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l> 

B 

o 

O 

« 

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u) 

< 

CO 

Second   Triumvirate  197 

battle.     The  senate  thus  lost  his  support.     Immediately  he 
came  to  an  understanding  with  Antony,  his  rival,  and  with 
Lepidus,  Csesar's  master  of  horse,  who  still  held  an  impor-    P.  68. 
tant  command.    These  three  men  together  had  forty-three 
legions  at  their  disposal.     They  made  of  themselves  "tri-   Appian, 
umvirs  for  reestablishing  the  state,"  — an  office  they  were   iv^ff.^. 
to  hold  for  five  years,  with  power  to  dispose  of  all  magis-   tonius,  Au- 
tracies  at  will  and  to  issue  decrees  which  should  have  the  g"st"s<  *i'< 

Plutarch, 

force  of  law.     The  assembly  ratified  the  arrangement,  and   Antony,  19 ff. 

in  this  way  the  Second  Triumvirate  came  into  being.    They 

filled  Rome  with  their  troops  and   renewed  the  hideous   P.  171. 

proscriptions  of  Sulla.     Each  sacrificed  friends  and  even 

kinsmen  to  the  hatred  of  the  others.     Among  the  victims 

of  Antony  was  Cicero,  the  .last  great  orator  of  the  ancient 

world.      Though   he   was  vain  and   wavering,    though   the 

cause  he  championed  meant  anarchy  for  Rome  and  misery 

for  the  provinces,  in  his  heart  he  was  a  patriot  and  a  friend 

of  liberty. 

Antony  and  Octavianus  led  their  armies  to  Macedonia  to   civil  war; 
meet  the  republican  forces  which  Cassius  and  Brutus  had   p^p"1  es  ° 
collected  there.     Two  battles  were  fought  near  Philippi.    42  b.c 
After  the  first,  which  was  indecisive,  Cassius  killed  him- 
self in  despair.     Brutus,  beaten  in  the  second  engagement, 
followed  the  example  of  his  mate;  the  republican  scholar 
could  not  live  under  the  rule  of  iron. 


The  triumvirs  renewed  their  authority  for  another  five   civil  war 

\\  p  T  TIT  p  p  T| 

years;  and  when  the  incompetent  Lepidus  dropped  from   Antonyand 
the  board,  the  two  remaining  members  divided  the  empire   Octavianus. 
between  them.     Antony  ruled  the  East  and  Octavianus  the   Appian, 
West.     To  cement  the  alliance,  the  heir  of  Caesar  gave  his     ™ff.  p^ 
sister  Octavia  in  marriage  to  his  colleague.     But  trouble   tarch, 
soon  arose.     Though  a  clever  orator,  a  diplomatist,  and%  Antony,  23  ft. 
no  mean  general,  Antony  was  fond  of  luxury  and  of  vice. 


198 


Militarism  against  the  Republic 


The  battle 
off  Actium, 
31  n.c. 


Neglecting  his  wife  and  the  interests  of  the  state,  he  spent 
his  time  with  Cleopatra  in  frivolous  dissipation.  The 
Italians  supposed  he  intended  to  make  her  his  queen  and 
himself  despot  of  an  Oriental  empire  with  Alexandria  for 
his  capital.  They  willingly  followed  Octavianus,  therefore, 
in  a  war  against  this  national  enemy.  The  fleets  of  the 
rivals  met  off  Actium  on  the  west  coast  of  Greece, 
31  B.C.  Agrippa,  an  able  general,  commanded  the  ships 
of    Octavianus  against  the  combined  squadrons  of  Antony 


Cleopai ra 

(Vatican  Museum,  Rome.) 

and  Cleopatra.  In  the  early  part  of  the  fight  this  infatu- 
ated pair  sailed  away,  leaving  their  fleet  to  take  care 
of  itself.  Agrippa's  light  triremes  outmanoeuvred  the 
ponderous  galleys  of  the  enemy,  and  burned  many  of 
them  with  fire-balls.  After  the  battle,  Antony's  land  force 
surrendered.  At  last  when  he  and  Cleopatra  committed 
suicide  in  Alexandria,  Octavianus  was  master  of  the  empire. 
.For  a  time  it  seemed  doubtful  whether  in  imitation  of  his 
adoptive  father  he  would  retain  all  the  power  in  his  own 


End  of  the  Republic  199 

hands,  or  restore  it  to  the  senate  after  the  example  of 
Sulla;  but  finally  he  chose  a  middle  course.  The  republi- 
can period  came  to  an  end  in  27  B.C.,  when  he  lay  down 
the  office  of  triumvir,  and  received  from  the  senate  the 
title  Augustus.  Hitherto  this  epithet  had  been  reserved 
for  the  gods  and  their  belongings.  In  conferring  it  on  The  end  of 
Octavianus  the  senate  intended  to  grant  no  power,  but  to  ^^T*  1C' 
mark  him  as  the  one  whom  all  should  revere.  Though  we 
shall  henceforth  speak  of  Octavianus  as  Augustus,  we  are 
to  bear  in  mind  that  all  the  emperors  after  him  held 
this  title  as  their  chief  distinction.  It  is  nearly  equivalent 
to  His  Sacred  Majesty. 

The  battle  of  Actium  was  one  of  the  most  important  in   Results  of 
ancient  history :   it  saved  European  civilization  from  un-   ^battle 
due  Oriental  influence;  it  ended  the  long  anarchy  which 
followed  the  murder  of  Caesar;  and  it  placed  the  destiny  of 
the  empire  in  the  hands  of  an  able  statesman.     Sulla  and 
Pompey  had  wielded  absolute  power,  but  they  lacked  the 
wisdom  necessary  for  creating  new  and  useful  institutions. 
In  failing  to  make  the  republic  a  part  of  his  system,  even 
the  great  Julius  Caesar  fell  short  of  the  needs  of  his  time.    p.  218. 
It  remained  for  Augustus  to  meet  the  demands  of  all  classes 
in  an  organization  which,  for  three  centuries,  was  to  pro- 
tect the  civilized  world  from  anarchy  and  from  barbarian 
invasion. 

During  the  decline  of  the  republic  the  spirit  of  the  The  culture 
ruling  class  rapidly  yielded  to  Hellenic  influence.  All  the 
sons  of  the  nobles  had  Greek  tutors,  and  when  they  grew  Pp.  260,  336. 
older  many  of  them  visited  Greece  to  study  in  the  famous 
schools  of  Athens  and  Rhodes.  Naturally,  therefore,  Hel- 
lenic ideas  controlled  the  intellectual  life  of  Rome. 
Throughout  these  years  the  political  pulse  beat  high,  and 
those  who  were  interested  in  public  affairs  worked  off  their 


200 


Militarism  against  the  Republic 


History. 
P.  146. 


P.  191. 


Biography. 


Oratory. 
P.  155. 


excitement  in  reading  and  writing.  The  age  produced 
much  literature,  especially  history  and  oratory.  After  the 
time  of  Cato  the  Censor,  some  of  the  annalists,  departing 
from  his  plan  of  narrating  facts  in  simple  language  for  the 
instruction  of  the  serious  reader,  began  to  write  for  the 
entertainment  of  the  public.  To  give  their  narrative  a 
brilliant  coloring  they  filled  it  with  lively  stories  and 
startling  incidents,  however  exaggerated  and  false.  About 
the  time  of  the  Social  War,  Valerius  Antias,  the  most  in- 
famous of  these  romancers,  composed  his  Annals  of  Rome 
in  seventy-five  books.  A  striking  contrast  with  the  diffuse 
rhetoric  of  Antias  is  the  plain  narrative  of  Caesar,  whose 
Commentaries  oh  the  Gallic  War  and  on  the  Civil  War 
have  already  been  noticed.  Toward  the  end  of  the  period 
Sallust  wrote  a  monograph  On  the  Conspiracy  of  Catiline 
and  another  On  the  Jugurthine  War.  Along  with  his  nar- 
rative of  events,  he  tried  to  analyze  impartially  the  char- 
acter of  society  and  the  motives  of  conduct.  These  works 
are  valuable  sources  for  the  subjects  treated.  Most  of 
his  History,  however,  which  describes  the  events  follow- 
ing Sulla's  death,  has  been  lost.  These  were  the  chief 
historians  of  the  age.  Though  each  noble  family  recorded 
the  deeds  of  illustrious  ancestors,  there  was  no  national 
interest  in  biography  till  the  closing  years  of  the  republic, 
when  the  great  men  of  Rome  began  to  attract  all  eyes.  At 
this  time  Cornelius  Nepos  wrote  a  work  On  Eminent  Mai, 
in  which  he  treated  famous  Romans  and  foreigners  in 
parallel  biographies.  Most  of  his  lives  which  we  still 
possess  are  of  Greek  generals;  they  prove  him  to  have 
been  an   inferior  and  untrustworthy  author. 

Perhaps  the  ablest  of  all  Roman  orators  was  Gaius 
Gracchus.  The  earnestness  of  his  feelings  and  his  clear 
statement  of    facts,   without  rhetorical   ornament,    carried 


Literature  20 1 

conviction.  Unfortunately  mere  fragments  of  his  speeches 
have  come  down  to  us.  Though  inferior  to  Gracchus  and 
Caesar  in  that  greatness  of  character  which  is  essential  to 
the  noblest  oratory,  Cicero  was  perfect  master  of  all  the 
resources  of  rhetoric  and  remains  the  most  celebrated 
writer  of  Latin  prose.  If  in  reading  his  speeches  we  guard 
against  his  misrepresentation  of  truth,  we  shall  find  them 
valuable  for  the  study  of  the  times.  More  trustworthy  are 
his  Letters  to  friends,  in  which  he  speaks  candidly  of 
passing  events. 

As  the  temperament  of  the  Romans  was  realistic  and  Poetry 
practical,  they  met  with  little  success  in  imaginative  litera- 
ture. Lucretius,  a  poet  of  this  age,  composed  in  verse  a 
work  On  the  Nature  of  the  World,  in  which  he  tried  by 
means  of  science  to  dispel  from  the  mind  all  fear  of  death 
and  of  the  gods,  —  to  free  men  from  superstition.  Not- 
withstanding the  scientific  details  in  which  the  poem 
abounds,  it  is  a  work  of  remarkable  genius.  Catullus,  a 
contemporary  poet,  wrote  beautiful  lyrics  and  elegies  on 
subjects  of  love  and  life,  and  some  bitter  lampoons.  On 
the  whole,  the  poetry  of  this  period  is  less  celebrated  than 
that  of  the  following. 

Writers  were  eager  to  bring  their  works  before  the  pub-  Books  and 
lie.  Publishers  employed  slaves  in  making  copies,  which  1  ranes- 
were  then  placed  on  sale.  Learned  men  had  private  libra- 
ries, and  Caesar  planned  to  make  as  large  a  collection  as 
possible  of  works  in  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages  for 
public  use,  and  assigned  the  task  of  collecting  and  arrang- 
ing them  to  Marcus  Terentius  Varro.  This  man,  the 
most  learned  of  the  Romans,  was  author  of  seventy-four 
works,  which  included  all  departments  of  knowledge  affect- 
ing his  own  country  and  race, — history,  geography,  agri- 
culture, law,  literature,  philology,  philosophy,  and  religion, 


202  Militarism  against  the  Republic 

—  a  Roman  encyclopaedia.  Although  the  Italians  had 
been  slow  in  developing  a  taste  for  culture,  and  though 
the  quality  of  their  literary  work  always  fell  short  of  the 
best  Greek  models,  they  surpassed  their  masters  in  the 
amount  produced.  Unfortunately  nearly  the  whole  body 
of  Greek  and  Roman  literature  has  disappeared,  leaving  us 
a  multitude  of  fragments  and  a  few  choice  works  intact. 
End  of  the  While  we  appreciate  the  progress  of   literature  and  of 

republic.  intelligence,   we  must  not   lose   sight  of  the  fact  that  in 

nearly  every  other  respect  Rome  was  rapidly  decaying.  At 
this  point  in  his  history,  Mommsen  aptly  remarks  : 
"There  was  in  the  world  as  Caesar  found  it  much  of  the 
Mommsen,  noble  heritage  of  past  centuries  and  an  infinite  abundance 
Rome,  bk.V.  Qf  p0mp  an(J  glory,  but  little  spirit,  still  less  taste,  and 
least  of  all  true  delight  in  life.  It  was  indeed,"  he  con- 
tinues, "an  old  world;  and  even  the  richly  gifted  patriot- 
ism of  Caesar  could  not  make  it  young  again."  All  that 
statesmen  could  now  do  was  to  determine  what  elements  of 
life  and  virtue  still  lingered  in  the  Roman  world,  and  to 
organize  these  forces,  with  which  to  stay  for  a  few  more 
centuries  the  wreck  of  ancient  civilization. 

Sources 

Reading.  Sallust,   Catiline;    History   (fragments);    Caesar,    Commentaries  on 

the  Gallic  War;  on  the  Civil  War;  (Hirtius  ?),  on  the  Alexandrian 
War;  on  the  African  War  (though  the  last  two  works  have  come 
down  to  us  under  the  name  of  Csesar,  they  were  probably  written  by 
Hirtius,  one  of  Cesar's  officers);  Cicero,  Letters  ;  Orations  ;  and  other 
works;  I. ivy  (epitome)  xc-exxxiv  ;  Appian,  Foreign  Wars,  xii.  64-121  ; 
Civil  Wars,  i.  107-121;  ii-v  ;  Plutarch,  Cesar;  Cicero;  Crassus , 
Cato  (the  Younger)  ;  Lucullus  :  Antony  :  Pompey;  Sertorius  ;  Brutus; 
Suetonius,  Julius  Cesar;  Augustus;  Dio  Cassius,  xxxvi-li  (German 
translation  from  the  Greek)  ;  Velleius  Paterculus  ii.  29-89  ;  Florus 
iii.  19-iv.  12;  I.uean,  Pkarsalia  (p.  240)  ;  Eutropius  vi,  vii.  1-7.  Cf. 
Botsford,  Story  of  Rome,  ch.  viii. 


Bibliography  203 

Modern  Works 

Pelham,  Outlines  of  Roman  History,  bk.  IV.  chs.  ii,  iii;  bk.  V. 
chs.  i,  ii ;  How  and  Leigh,  History  of  Rome,  chs.  xlv-lii  ;  Shuckburgh, 
History  of  Rome,  chs.  xli-xlvi  ;  Taylor,  Constitutional  and  Political  His- 
tory of  Rome,  chs.  xii-xvi  ;  Merivale,  Roman  Triumvirates  (epochs)  ; 
Allcroft,  Making  of  the  Monarchy  (tutorial)  ;  Mommsen,  History  of 
Rome,  bk.  V  ;  Duruy,  History  of  Rome,  III.  chs.  xlviii-lxi  ;  Merivale, 
History  of  the  Romans  under  the  Empire  (I-III),  chs.  i-xxviii  ;  Long, 
Decline  of  the  Roman  Republic,  II.  chs.  xxx-xxxiii  ;  III-V  (entire)  ; 
Seeley,  Roman  Imperialism,  lect.  i  ;  Beesly,  Catiline,  Clodius,  and 
Tiberius;  Hall,  The  Romans  on  the  Riviera  and  the  Rhone,  chs. 
xi-xv  ;  D'Hugues,  Cue  Province  Romaine  sous  La  Republique,  Etude 
sur  le  Proconsular  de  Ciceron  (Paris,  1876)  ;  Mahaffy,  Greek  World 
under  Roman  Sway,  ch.  iv  ;  Church,  Roman  Life  in  the  Days  of 
Cicero ;  Trollope,  Cicero:  Strachan-Davidson,  Cicero  (heroes)  ;  Bois- 
sier,  Cicero  and  his  Friends ;  Forsyth,  Cicero;  Dubois-Guchan,  Rome 
et  Ciceron;  Napoleon  III,  Julius  Casar,  2  vols.  ;  Delorme,  Cesar  el 
ses  Contemporains ;  Froude,  Casar ;  Fowler,  Julius  Casar  (heroes)  ; 
Dodge,  Casar  (great  captains)  ;  Holmes,  Cesar's  Conquest  of  Gaul; 
Davis,  A  Friend  of  Ccesar  (a  novel)  ;  Mackail,  Latin  Literature, 
bk.  I.  chs.  iv— \  ii  ;  Crultwell,  History  of  Roman  Literature,  bk.  II. 
pt.  i  ;    Simcox,  Latin  Literature,  I.  pt.  ii. 


The  Pantheon 

(Campus  Martius.) 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  FOUNDING  OF  THE  IMPERIAL  GOVERNMENT  — THE 

DYARCHY 

(27  U.C.-41  A.D.) 

Thf.  Julian  Emperors 

"  Safe  the  herds  range  field  and  fen, 

Full-headed  stand  the  shocks  of  grain, 
Our  sailors  sweep  the  peaceful  main, 
\nd  man  can  trust  his  fellow-men. 


"The  Parthian,  under  Caesar's  reign, 
( >r  icy  Scythian,  who  can  dread, 
( >r  all  the  tribes  barbarian  bred 
By  Germany,  or  ruthless  Spain  ? 
204 


Dyarchy  205 

"  Now  each  man,  basking  on  his  slopes, 
Weds  to  his  widowed  trees  the  vine, 
Then,  as  he  gaily  quaffs  his  wine, 
Salutes  thee  God  of  all  his  hopes." 

Hokack,  Odes,  iv.  15  (to  Augustus). 

The  need  of  a  strong,  humane  power  for  the  protection   Value  of  the 

of  the  frontier   and   for  developing  the  resources  and  the   imPenalg°v- 

1      °  ernment. 

happiness  of  the  provinces  had  called  in  the  new  imperial 
government  to  take  the  place  of  the  worn-out  republic. 
Henceforth  it  will  be  our  chief  interest  to  learn  by  what 
means  and  how  far  the  successive  emperors  performed  this 
double  task  ■  we  shall  concern  ourselves  less  with  the  cor- 
rupt nobility  and  with  the  intrigues  of  the  imperial  family 
than  with  the  progress  of  the  civilized  world. 

A  chief  aim  of  Augustus  was  to  protect  the  frontiers,  to  main-  The  frontiers, 
tain  quiet  by  diplomacy,  and  to  wage  war  solely  for  the  sake 
of  peace.  In  the  East,  Rome  had  a  great  rival  in  the  Par- 
thian empire.  This  power,  which  Augustus  found  haughty 
from  its  victory  over  Crassus,  he  humbled  without  war.  With  p.  187. 
great  difficulty  he  secured  the  friendship  of  Armenia,  a  bor- 
der country  whose  kings  wavered  between  Rome  and  Par- 
thia.  Although  there  remained  several  small  kingdoms  in 
the  East,  as  Pontus  and  Cappadocia,  wholly  dependent  upon 
Rome,  Augustus  preferred  to  convert  such  states  into  prov- 
inces. He  placed  Judea  under  an  imperial  agent  termed 
procurator ;  after  the  death  of  Cleopatra,  he  set  a  prefect 
over  Egypt.  He  kept  four  legions  in  Syria,  one  in  the 
valley  of  the  Nile  as  a  protection  from  Parthia  and  Ethiopia, 
and  a  few  troops  west  of  Egypt  to  ward  off  the  sparse  Afri- 
can tribes.  In  place  of  war  he  encouraged  trade  with  for- 
eign countries,  even  with  distant  India. 

To  defend  the  northern  frontier  from  the  barbarians  of    The  northern 
central  Europe  was  the  most  difficult  problem  with  which   frontier- 


206 


Dyarchy 


the  emperor  had  to  deal.  This  task  fell  to  his  stepsons, 
Sons  of  his  Tiberius  and  Drusus.  As  the  Danube  was  to  form  a  part 
wife  Lma  by   Qf  ^\s  boun(jary,  four  provinces,  Raetia,  Noricum,  Pannonia, 

a  former  mar- 
riage. and  Mcesia,  lining  the  southern  bank,  protected  it  with  strong 

P.  218. 


Augusi  1 

(Vatican  Museum,  Rome.) 


forts  and  garrisons.  In  like  manner  two  frontier  provinces, 
Upper  and  Lower  Germany,  defended  the  Rhine  with  a 
chain  of  fifty  forts.  While  Tiberius  was  organizing  the 
defence  along  the  Danube  and  was  putting  down  revolts, 
Drusus,  his  younger  brother,  attempted  to  subdue  Germany 


The  Frontiers  207 

from  the  Rhine  to  the  Elbe.     This  conquest,  had  it  been 
achieved,  would   have    greatly  shortened   the  frontier   and 
would  thus  have  made  it  far  easier  to  defend.     By  redeem- 
ing so  large  a  part  of  Germany  from  barbarism,  it  would  have 
altered  the  current  of  history.      For  three  years  he  was  suc- 
cessful in  defeating  barbarians  and  in  gaining  control  of  their    12-9  b.c. 
country  by  means  of  forts,  when  he  fatally  injured  himself  by 
a  fall  from  his  horse.     Hastening  to  his  brother's  side,  Tibe- 
rius was  with  him  in  his  last  moments  ;    and  with  a  devotion 
which  was  rare  in  that  age,  he  brought  the  body  from  the 
depths  of  the  German  forest  to  Rome,  walking  all  the  way 
in  front  of  the  bier.     It  was  a  great  loss  to  the  imperial   Tacitus,  An- 
family ;  for  Drusus  was  an  able  man  and  popular  with  the   "a/s'  '•  33- 
army. 

Tiberius,  who  succeeded  to  the  command,  was  likewise  Tiberius, 
the  idol  of  the  troops  ;  for  he  watched  over  them  with  the 
care  of  a  father,  and  shared  all  their  hardships.  For  a  short 
time  he  carried  on  the  work  of  completing  and  of  organiz- 
ing the  conquest ;  then  leaving  it  to  other  hands,  he  retired 
to  private  life.  When  he  returned  after  ten  years'  absence 
"at  the  very  sight  of  him  tears  of  joy  sprang  from  the  eyes 
of  the  soldiers ;  they  saluted  him  with  strange  enthusiasm, 
and    eagerly  wished   to  touch  his    hand.  .  .  .      One    after  Veiieius 

another  exclaimed,  -  General,  I  was  with  you  in  Armenia.'    Paterculus. 

ii.  104. 
'  And  I  in  Raetia.'    '  You  rewarded  me  in  Vindelicia.'    '  And 

me  in  Panhonia.'  '  And  me  in  Germany  ! '  "  Thoug'h  the 
work  of  fastening  the  yoke  upon  the  brave,  liberty-loving  p.  295. 
Germans  was  difficult,  it  seemed  complete  when  Tiberius 
returned  to  Pannonia  to  put  down  a  dangerous  rebellion 
there.  Meantime  Augustus  made  Varus,  a  distant  kinsman, 
governor  of  the  new  province.  This  man  had  too  much  of 
the  old  republican  spirit  to  make  a  good  ruler ;  and  Augus- 
tus was  at  fault  in  giving  him  the   post  without  imposing 


208 


Dyarchy 


Battle  of  the 

Teutoberg 

Forest, 

9  A.I). 

Suetonius, 
Augustus, 
23 ;  Tacitus, 
Annals, 
i.  61,  62. 


Velleius 
Paterculus, 
ii.  120. 


The  prov- 
inces. 


strict  instructions.  Varus  considered  his  subjects  mere 
slaves,  whom  he  tried  to  govern  by  the  principles  he  had 
learned  in  the  Orient.  They  resisted  ;  and  under  the  lead 
of  Arminius,  a  chieftain's  son  who  had  received  his  educa- 
tion at  Rome,  they  plotted  against  their  tyrannic  governor. 
As  he  was  leading  his  three  legions  through  the  Teutoberg 
Forest  on  his  way  to  winter  quarters,  they  surrounded  him 
and  cut  his  army  to  pieces.  Varus  killed  himself  ;  the  bar- 
barians hung  their  prisoners  to  trees  and  tortured  them  to 
death.  Though  Augustus  appeared  to  bear  the  news  with 
a  brave  heart,  his  spirit  was  broken  by  the  misfortune  he 
could  not  repair.  From  time  to  time  he  would  say,  "  Varus, 
Varus,  give  me  back  my  legions."  As  he  saw  his  helpers 
and  his  kinsmen  dying  one  after  another,  and  felt  himself 
worn  out  by  sickness  and  toil,  the  emperor  at  length  real- 
ized how  gigantic  was  the  task  of  defending  the  empire  and 
how  lonely  was  to  be  the  walk  of  the  man  who  carried  in 
his  bosom  the  burden  of  the  world's  cares.  However,  as 
the  empire  was  again  endangered  by  the  Germans,  Augus- 
tus compelled  the  Italians  to  enlist,  sorely  against  their  will. 
Tiberius,  accompanied  by  Germanicus,  son  of  his  brother 
Drusus,  led  a  new  army  across  the  Rhine.  "  He  penetrated 
into  the  interior,  opened  roads,  wasted  the  lands,  burned 
houses,  overthrew  all  opposition,  and  then  with  abundance 
of  glory,  and  without  losing  a  man  of  those  who  had  crossed 
the  river,  he  returned  to  winter  quarters."  This  bloodless 
campaign  quieted  the  natives  and  inspired  the  raw  army 
with  courage.  As  Augustus  had  now  abandoned  the  idea 
of  advancing  the  frontier  beyond  the  Rhine,  Tiberius  pru- 
dently accepted  the  decision. 

In  reviewing  the  border  provinces,  we  have  had  occa- 
sion to  notice  only  the  emperor  and  his  helpers;  for  all 
those  districts  which  danger   threatened  were    under  his 


TJie  Provinces  209 

direct  care.  He  administered  their  judicial  and  military 
affairs  by  means  of  lieutenants, — legati, — who  during  p.  187. 
office  were  called  propraetors,  while  his  fiscal  agents  — 
procuratores  —  attended  to  finance.  The  older  and  more 
peaceful  provinces  still  belonged  to  the  senate,  which 
appointed  governors  with  the  title  of  proconsul.  While 
the  senatorial  rulers  changed  annually,  as  under  the  repub- 
lic, a  propraetor  continued  in  office  as  long  as  the  emperor 
willed,  generally  for  many  years;  thus  he  could  learn  the 
needs  of  the  provincials  and  interest  himself  in  their  hap- 
piness. Augustus  followed  the  example  of  Julius  Caesar  in  P.  193. 
insisting  on  a  just  and  vigorous  government;  though  the 
imperial  provinces  fared  better  than  the  senatorial,  he 
possessed  proconsular  authority  over  all  the  governors  alike, 
by  means  of  which  he  could  check  abuse  in  any  part  of  the 
empire.  Accordingly  the  rule  of  the  emperors,  imitating 
that  of  Julius  Caesar,  was  a  blessing  to  the  subjects;  the 
thousand-headed  monster  of  the  republic  with  its  horrid 
appetite  for  plunder  had  at  last  given  place  to  the  prudent 
master,  whose  chief  care  was  to  increase  the  value  of  his 
"estates."  Although  Augustus  withheld  the  Roman  citi-  P.  193. 
zenship  and  still  claimed  the  land  as  state  property,  the 
provincials  enjoyed  a  large  degree  of  municipal  freedom. 
He  encouraged  trade  and  knit  the  empire  together  by 
continuing  the  system  of  well-paved  roads  which  radiated 
from  the  -golden  milestone  of  the  Forum  to  the  remotest 
parts  of  the  Roman  world.  Thus  the  imperial  government 
brought  the  provinces  protection  from  invasion,  internal 
quiet,  a  just  administration,  thrift,  happiness,  and  the 
healthful  atmosphere  of  local  freedom.  However  far  from 
.  ideal,  the  system  was  as  good  as  the  circumstances  would 
permit. 

The   division   of    the    empire   between    the   senate   and 
p 


2IO 


Dyarchy 


Thedyarchy.    Augustus  followed  a  precedent  set  in  the  time  of  Pompey. 

P- 179-  rphe  senate  was  still  to  rule  Italy  and  the  quiet  provinces; 

the  emperor  undertook  the  more  difficult  task  of  maintain- 
ing and  commanding  the  army,  and  of  protecting  the  un- 
settled and  exposed  parts  of  the  empire.  The  republic 
continued  in  free  Italy;  the  monarchy  was  established  for 
the  states  already  subject.  This  dyarchy,  or  double  rule 
of  the  senate  and  the  emperor,  accorded  better  with  public 

P.  199.  feeling,  and  hence  was  more  substantial,  than  the  absolu- 

tism of  Julius  Caesar.  By  professing  to  derive  his  authority 
from  the  senate  and  the  people,  Augustus  disguised  his  own 
position  in  republican  forms.1  Whereas  the  moderns  call 
him  emperor,  from  his  title  of  imperator,  the  Romans 
styled  him  simply  prince,  the  "foremost"  of  the  citizens. 
The  outward  sign  of  his  position  was  the  purple  robe  which 
he  wore  at  public  festivals. 

Like  his  adoptive  father,  Augustus  held  at  once  various 
kinds  of  official  authority,  —  chiefly  the  proconsular  for  the 
control  of  the  provinces,  and  the  tribunitian  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  Rome.  As  the  tribunes  and  the  proconsuls,  by 
combined  action,  had  overthrown  the  republic,  their  offi- 
cial powers  naturally  formed  the  basis  of  the  new  imperial 

P-73-  government.     Not  only  did  the  tribunitian  authority  make 

the  emperor's  person  sacred,  but  it  marked  him  as  the 
friend  of  the  people.  Whatever  his  personal  inclinations 
may  have  been,  the  heir  of  Julius  Caesar  was  a  son  of  de- 


Imperial 
offices  and 
powers. 
P.  191. 


P.  iE 


1  "  In  my  sixth  and  seventh  consulships,  when  I  had  put  an  end  to 
the  civil  wars  and  had  obtained  complete  control  of  affairs  by  universal 
consent,  I  transferred  the  commonwealth  from  my  own  dominion  to 
the  authority  of  the  senate  and  the  people  of  Rome.  In  return  for 
this  favor  I  received  by  decree  of  the  senate  the  title  Augustus.  .  .  . 
After  that  time  I  excelled  all  others  in  dignity,  but  of  power  I  held  no 
more  than  those  also  held  who  were  my  colleagues  in  any  magistracy." 
Augustus.  Deeds  {Monumeiitum  Ancyranurn),  xxxiv. 


Public  Improvements  2 1 1 

mocracy,  who    harmonized   better  with  the  plain  citizens 

than  with  the  party  which  had  murdered  his  father. 

Although  Augustus  sometimes  held  the  consulship  and   The  old 

occasionally  undertook  the  duties  of  censor,  he  generally  r(^ublican 

'  o       .       j    offices. 

left  the  republican  offices  to  others,  whom  the  people  elected 
and  the  senate  supervised  in  the  traditional  way.  The 
consuls,  whose  term  was  now  generally  less  than  a  year,  P.  247. 
the  praetors,  the  plebeian  tribunes,  and  the  other  republi- 
can officers  performed  their  routine  duties  with  little 
change ;  but  all  the  old  institutions  were  under  the  shadow 
of  Augustus.  His  successors  gradually  encroached  upon 
the  power  of  the  senate  till,  in  the  time  of  Diocletian,  P.  278  ft'. 
the  prince  became  an  absolute  monarch. 

Not  only  in   government,    but  in   public   economy,    in   Public im- 
architecture,  in  religion,  and  in  morals,  Augustus  was  less   provements- 
a  creator  than  a  restorer  of  the  past.     On  this  characteristic 
he  prided  himself.     "  I  have  established  colonies  of  soldiers   Colonies, 
in  Africa,  Sicily,  Macedonia,  the  two  Spains,  Achaia,  Asia,    Augustus, 
Syria,    Gallia   Narbonensis,    and   Pisidia.       Italy  also  has   Deeds> xxvni- 
twenty-eight  colonies  planted  under  my  auspices,   which 
within  my  lifetime  have  become  very  famous  and  popu- 
lous."    His  aim  was  not  only  to  furnish  his  retired  veter- 
ans with  farms  but  also  to  resettle  depopulated  lands,  so 
as  to  improve  the  economic  condition  of  the  country. 

"The  Capitol1  and  the  Pompeian  theatre  I  have  repaired   Public 
at  enormous  expense.   .   .   .     Aqueducts  which  were  crum-   buildings- 
bling  in  many  places,  by  reason  of  age,   I  have  restored   Augustus, 
.   .   .  and  have  finished  the  Julian  Forum  and  the  basilica   Deeds<  xx- 
which  was  between  the  temple  of  Castor  and  the  temple  of 
Saturn,  works  begun  and  almost  completed  by  my  father; 
and  when  that  same  basilica  was  consumed  by  fire,  I  began 
its  reconstruction  on  an  enlarged  scale,  inscribing  it  with 
1  The  Capitoline  temple  of  Jupiter. 


212 


Dyarchy 


p.  148. 


the  names  of  my  sons.  If  I  do  not  live  to  complete  it, 
I  have  given  orders  that  it  be  finished  by  my  heirs.  In 
accordance  with  a  decree  of  the  senate,  while  consul  for 
the  sixth  time,  I  restored  eighty-two  temples  of  the  gods, 
passing  over  none  which  was  at  that  time  in  need  of  repair. 
In  my  seventh  consulship  I  [re-]  built  the  Flaminian  Way 


The  Temple  of  Mars  the  Avenger 

(In  the  Augustan  Forum.) 


Mars  the 
Avenger. 
Augustus, 
Deeds,  xxi. 


to  Ariminum,  and  all  the  bridges  except  the  Mulvian  and 
the  Minucian." 

"  Upon  private  ground  I  have  built  with  the  spoils  of 
war  the  temple  of  Mars  the  Avenger,  and  the  Augustan 
Forum."  The  Mars  of  this  temple  was  not  to  be  the  god 
of  conquest;  his  function,  rather,  was  to  punish  foreign 
powers  which  disturbed  the  peace  of  the  empire.  The 
Tantheon,    which    means    the    "all-divine,"    is   a   famous 


Temples 


213 


temple  originally  built  by  Agrippa,   the  emperor's  ablest   The  Pan- 
minister.1       In     it    men    worshipped    Mars    and    Venus,       eon' 
the  chief- gods  of  the  Julian  family.      It  still  stands  well 
preserved  in  what  was  once  the  Campus  Martius,  and  is 
now  used  as  a  Christian  church.     The  temple  is  circular 
and  is  covered  by  a  most  magnificent  dome.     The  spec- 


8! 


...-■ft 


1.  Roman  Forum. 

2.  Temple  of  Mars  the  Avenger.     g~£ 

3.  Temple  of  Venus  and  Rome.     P^=§ 

4.  Basilica  of  Coustantine.  \~         ^^~ 

5.  Basilica  Julia. 

AT'  h  ...(!.  "■■!,-  !.i!i[  It..-.  '-       *: 

Arch  of  Titus.  S?§55 

Temple  of  the  Capitoline  Jupi{M\J 

9.   Trajan's  Column. 

For  details  of  the  Forum 

a/,d  vicinity,  see  plan  of  , 

the  Sacred  Way.  page.  234  %; 


ENGRAVED  BY  BQBMAY   4    CO.,    N.Y. 


Imperial  Rome 


tator  who.  stands  within  this  rotunda  cannot  fail  to  see  in 
it  an  emblem  of  the  vast  and  durable  power  of  Rome. 
Other  wealthy  men  besides  Agrippa  followed  the  example 
of  their  prince  in  erecting  splendid  public  buildings  as 
well  as  residences,  till  Augustus  could  boast  that  whereas 
he  had  found  Rome  of  brick,  he  left  it  of  marble.     This, 


"  A  city  of 
marble." 


1  Recent   scholarship   assigns  the  building  in   its    present    form    to 
Hadrian;  Lanciani,  Ruins  and  Excavations  of  Ancient  Rome,  p.  470  fif. 


214 


Dyarchy 


P.  8. 


Religion. 


Pp.  29,  191. 


Horace, 
( armen 
Sceculare. 


From  an 
inscription 
found  in 

Asia  Minor. 


however,  was  merely  the  appearance  of  the  new  Augustan 
city;  for  the  Romans  continued  to  build  most  of  their 
temples  and  other  houses  of  brick,  which  they  henceforth 
covered  with  marble  slabs.  Though  they  imported  most  of 
their  marbles,  they  had  plenty  of  coarser  stones  for  all 
substantial  works,  and  an  excellent  cement  of  volcanic 
ashes  mixed  with  lime,  which  helped  much  to  make  Rome 
the  eternal  city.  Nearly  all  the  temples  and  other  public 
buildings  were  on  low  ground,  as  about  the  Forum  and  in 
the  Campus  Martins.  Augustus  built  his  residence  on  the 
Palatine,  and  the  example  was  followed  by  his  successors, 
who  themselves  enjoyed  larger  and  better-situated  dwell- 
ings than  they  had  given  the  gods. 

Notwithstanding  the  many  temples,  Roman  society  had 
forgotten  the  gods  and  had  lost  its  morals.  Augustus  restored 
the  ancient  ceremonies  of  worship  which  had  fallen  into 
disuse;  and  by  precept  and  law,  he  attempted  to  lead  the 
people  back  to  the  old  religion  and  to  the  pure,  simple 
life  of  the  ancestors  who  had  made  the  city  great.  He 
became  chief  pontiff;  and  while  he  probably  had  little 
faith  himself,  he  felt  that  religion  was  good  for  the  masses. 
His  work  was  not  wholly  fruitless.  A  poet  of  the  age 
writes,  "Now  Faith  and  Peace  and  Honor  and  Antique 
Modesty  and  neglected  Virtue  dare  return,  and  Plenty 
appears  in  view,  rich  with  her  overflowing  horn,"  —  the 
expression  of  a  wish  almost  realized.  As  the  "son  of  the 
deified  Julius,"  Augustus  came  near  to  divinity  even  in 
Rome,  while  the  provincials  built  temples  in  which  they 
sacrificed  to  him  as  to  a  god.  In  fact  the  worship  of  the 
emperor  was  to  be  the  most  vital  force  in  the  religion  of 
the  Roman  world  till  the  adoption  of  Christianity.  "He 
is  the  paternal  Zeus  and  the  saviour  of  the  whole  race  of 
man,  who  fulfils  all   prayers,  even  more  than  we  ask.      For 


Literature  215 

land  and  sea  enjoy  peace;  cities  nourish;  everywhere  are 
harmony  and  prosperity  and  happiness."  Three  times  in  Augustus, 
his  reign  he  closed  the  doors  of  the  temple  of  Janus  as  a 
sign  of  peace  throughout  the  empire.  In  one  of  these  P.  28. 
intervals  of  quiet  there  was  born  in  Judea  the  Christ,  who 
was  to  give  the  world  new  spiritual  life  and  an  ideal  of 
perfect  manhood. 

Through  literature  as  well  as  through  religion,  Augustus  Literature, 
summoned  his  people  to  lay  aside  the  bitterness  of  party  strife 
for  the  blessings  of  his  peace.  Under  the  patronage  of  the 
emperor,  or  of  Maecenas,  his  minister,  the  great  writers 
aimed  to  purify  and  to  ennoble  the  present  by  bringing  it 
the  life  of  the  good  and  great  past.  I. ivy,  the  most  emi-  Livy. 
nent  author  of  prose  in  this  age,  wrote  a  history  of  Rome 
in  a  hundred  and  forty-two  books.1  Though  in  his  con- 
ception of  the  aim  and  methods  of  history  he  was  far  infe- 
rior to  Polybius,  whom  he  had  read,  he  loved  what  he  P.  147. 
supposed  to  be  the  truth  and  the  right.  His  sympathies 
were  intensely  republican;  with  his  fine  rhetorical  train- 
ing he  would  have  been,  like  Cicero,  a  great  aristocratic 
orator,  had  he  lived  a  few  years  earlier.  Yet  he  consented 
to  work  for  Augustus.  His  love  of  law  and  order,  his 
hatred  of  violence  and  vulgarity,  served  the  interests  of  his 
patron,  while  the  vast  compass  and  the  stately  style  of 
his  history,  like  the  Pantheon  of  Agrippa  and  the  splendid 
residences  on  the  Palatine,  helped  make  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment magnificent. 

Vergil  was  the  poetic  counterpart  of   Livy.    '  He,   too,    Vergil, 
had  an  elevated  style;  and  in  his  sEneid,  a  story  of  the 
wanderings  of  yEneas,  he  glorified  the  beginnings  of  Rome   P.  17. 

1  Books  i-x  and  xxi-xlv,  with  mere  summaries  of  the  remaining 
books,  have  alone  come  down  to  us,  and  are  our  chief  source  for  the 
earlier  periods. 


2l6 


Dyarchy 


Duruy, 
Rome,  iv. 
P-  3J3- 


Horace. 


and,  at  the  same  time,  the  imperial  family,  which  claimed 
descent  from  the  hero  of  his  poem.  In  his  Georgics  he 
called  attention  to  the  pleasures  and  the  virtues  of  country 
life  and  of  husbandry.  "If  the  Georgics  are  the  praise  of 
labor  sanctified  by  religion  and  recompensed  by  the  gods, 
the  ALneid  is  the  eulogy  of  the  monarchy  consecrated  by 
the  divine  will  and  protection.  The  two  poems,  therefore, 
were  a  plea  in  favor  of  that  threefold  restoration  of  the 
manners,  the  religion,  and  the  government  of  early  days 
which  Augustus  was  striving  to  accomplish." 

Horace,  author  of  Odes  and  Satires  and  of  Epistles  in 
verse,  was  the  poet  of  contentment  and  of  common  sense, 
who  bade  his  friends  — 


Odes,  iii.  8. 


The  succes- 

sion. 

P.  2IO. 

Vergil, 

.■Tine  id, 

vi. 

860-886 

23  B.C. 

Tacitus, 

An 

nals,  iii. 

56. 

"  Snatch  gaily  the  joys  which  the  moment  shall  bring, 
And  away  every  care  and  perplexity  fling." 

Leave  the  future  to  the  gods,  he  taught.  A  comfortable 
villa,  some  shady  nook  in  summer,  and  in  winter  a  roaring 
fireplace,  good  wine,  pleasant  friends,  and  a  mind  free 
from  care  make  an  ideal  life.  After  the  stormy  end  of 
the  republic,  the  world  needed  such  a  lesson;  and  though 
he  remained  independent  in  spirit,  Horace  quietly  served 
his  prince. 

Among  the  cares  of  government,  none  weighed  more 
heavily  upon  Augustus  than  his  concern  for  the  empire 
after  his  death.  As  he  preferred  hereditary  succession  of 
power  in  his  own  family,  though  he  dared  not  openly  pro- 
fess it,  he  first  looked  to  his  nephew  Marcellus  as  heir. 
When  this  loved  youth  died,  he  made  Agrippa  his  col- 
league in  the  tribunitian  power,1  and  gave  him  his  own 
daughter  Julia   in   marriage.      No    one   now   doubted   that 


1  Some  time  previously  Agrippa  had  received  a  share 
consular  power;    cf.  p.  210. 


>f  the  pro- 


The  Succession  217 

Agrippa  would  be  the  next  emperor.  When  he,  too,  died, 
worn  out  by  ceaseless  labor  for  the  imperial  family,  his 
sons,  Lucius  and  Gaius,  grandsons  of  Augustus,  though 
mere  boys,  were  treated  as  the  heirs.  In  youth  they  held 
high  republican  offices  and  received  military  commands. 
Both  were  corrupted,  however,  by  flattery  and  vice.  Lucius 
died,  apparently  from  the  effect  of  bad  habits,  and  Gaius 
from  a  wound  received  while  conducting  a  campaign  in 


Julia,  Daughter  of  Augustus,  and  her  Sons,  Gaius  and  Lucius 

(Vatican  Museum,  Rome.) 

the  East.  Finally  Tiberius,  who  had  grown  to  middle  age 
in  public  service,  became  the  colleague  and  the  heir  of  the 
emperor. 

"In  the  vigor  of  life,  Augustus  had  been  able  to  main-  Death  of 
tain  his  own  position,  that  of  his  house,  and  the  general  j11^"' 
quiet."  But  a  reaction  set  in  against  his  system  in  his  old  Tacitus, 
age,  when  he  was  too  feeble  for  the  varied  and  difficult  ' J' '' 4' 

tasks  of    his  office.     He  was  disappointed,    too,    by   the 
failure  of  many  of  his  plans,  by  the  disaster  in  Germany,    P.  208. 
by  the  death  of  one  heir  after  another,  and  not  least  by  the 


218 


Dyarchy 


P.  221. 


Character  of 
Augustus. 

P.  196. 


Pliny,  Natu- 
ral History, 
xvi.  3. 

Tiberius 
emperor, 
14-37  A.D. 
Suetonius, 
Tiberius,  68. 


immorality  of  his  daughter  and  granddaughter,  both  named 
Julia.  The  literary  men  were  growing  weary  of  his  rule 
and  some  of  the  nobles  were  plotting.  Augustus  was  still 
firm;  he  banished  the  two  Julias  and  Ovid,  once  a  favorite 
court  poet,  and  he  revived  against  conspirators  an  old  law 
of  treason,  which  was  to  become  infamous  under  his  suc- 
cessor. He  died  in  14  a.d.,  after  forty-five  years  of  rule. 
His  wife  Livia,  who  had  been  his  strong  support  during 
life,  secured  to  her  son  Tiberius  the  peaceful  succession. 

Augustus  was  a  cold,  shrewd  statesman  without  passions 
or  ideals,  who  ruled  by  compromise  and  deception.  The 
imperial  system  which  he  introduced  had  many  defects: 
worst  of  all,  he  permitted  the  military  power  to  overshadow 
everything  else;  and  instead  of  creating  vital  institutions 
which  should  take  the  place  of  individual  caprice  and 
despotism  in  the  government  of  the  empire,  he  continued 
the  lifeless  republican  offices  and  the  senate,  whose  servile 
flattery  to  the  emperor  concealed  the  assassin's  dagger. 
Thus  the  dyarchy  itself  prophesied  strife.  There  was 
needed,  too,  a  fixed  principle  of  succession  to  prevent 
civil  war,  and  an  organic  political  life  for  the  whole 
empire  to  assure  its  perpetuity.  But  with  his  limited  ideas 
and  in  his  trying  position,  Augustus  did  what  he  could; 
and  for  the  blessings  he  brought  the  world,  "the  human 
race  decrees  him  a  civic  crown." 

Tiberius,  who  succeeded  Augustus,  "was  in  person  large 
and  robust,  taller  than  common,  broad  in  shoulders  and 
chest,"  with  fair  complexion  and  large  eyes.  At  the  time 
of  his  accession,  he  was  fifty-six  years  of  age.  A  scholar 
and  a  man  of  peace  by  the  traditions  of  his  family,  he  had 
toiled  from  youth  upward  in  governing  frontier  provinces, 
in  commanding  armies,  and  in  rapid  journeys  to  exposed 
points  of   the   empire,    wherever  duty   called.       He    now 


Tiberius 


219 


found  the  treasury  exhausted  by  the  expensive  works  of 
Augustus,  a  hungry  populace  to  be  fed,  and  a  cringing 
senate,  which,  while  shirking  responsibility,  still  longed 
for  the  honor  and  the  profit  of  government.     Certainly  he   Tacitus,  An- 

,  ,    ,  nals,  i.  11  ff. 

must  have  felt 
there  was  more  of 
bitter  than  of  sweet 
in  the  cup  he  was 
about  to  drink; 
and  he  may  have 
been  sincere  in  his 
request  for  an  ex- 
cuse from  further 
public  service,  or 
at  most  for  a 
limited  share  in 
the  government. 
However  that  may 
be,  the  senate 
voted  him  all  the 
powers  Augustus 
had  held. 

I  immediately 
afterhisaccession, 
the  armies  in  Pan- 
nonia  and  on  the 
Rhine  mutinied. 
From     the     time 

Rome  became  a  conquering  state,  the  soldiers  had  received  Tacitus,  An- 
their  share  of  booty  and  of  the  acquired  lands.     Now  that  '  ls,hI  "49- 
Augustus  had  given  the  empire  a  policy  of  peace,  there  were 
no  more  wealthy  cities  to  sack,  no  booty,  and  no  vacant 
land  but  swamps  and  sterile  mountain  sides.    The  great  sums 


Tiberius 

(Vatican  Museum,  Rome.) 


220 


Dyarcfiy 


A  peaceful 
reign. 


Tacitus, 
Annals,  iv.  6. 


The  senate 
and  the  popu- 
lace hate 
Tiberius. 


of  money  which  the  triumvirs  had  wrung  from  the  miserable 
provincials,  to  use  in  bribing  whole  armies,  could  no  longer 
be  had.  The  troops  now  fought  against  poor  barbarians 
or  in  time  of  peace  built  military  roads  and  other  public 
works.  But  the  direct  cause  of  their  mutiny  was  the  hope 
of  gaining  some  reward  for  a  promise  of  devotion  to  the 
new  emperor.  They  demanded  a  shorter  term  of  service, 
higher  pay,  and  more  bounty.  Those  on  the  Rhine  offered 
to  support  their  general,  Germanicus,  nephew  of  Tiberius, 
if  he  would  attempt  to  make  himself  emperor.  Fortunately 
the  commanders  proved  loyal,  and  with  difficulty  sup- 
pressed the  outbreak.  This  trouble  pointed  toward  the 
time  when  the  armies  should  make  and  unmake  emperors. 

Germanicus  then  led  his  legions  across  the  Rhine  and 
avenged  the  defeat  of  Varus.  But  as  Augustus  in  his  will 
had  advised  his  successors  not  to  extend  the  boundaries 
of  the  empire,  Tiberius  would  not  permit  his  nephew  to 
waste  the  resources  of  the  government  in  attempting  further 
conquests.  No  important  war  disturbed  the  remainder  of 
his  reign;  he  devoted  himself,  therefore,  to  administrative 
work,  in  which  he  showed  remarkable  ability.  "He  was 
careful  not  to  distress  the  provinces  by  new  burdens,  and 
to  see  that  in  bearing  the  old  they  were  safe  from  any 
rapacity  of  the  governors."  By  rebuilding  twelve  cities  of 
Asia  Minor  which  had  been  destroyed  by  earthquakes,  he 
taught  the  Romans  that  they  had  duties  as  well  as  privileges 
in  their  relations  with  the  provinces.  There  is  no  wonder, 
then,  that  the  subject  nations  respected  him. 

The  senate,  however,  would  have  preferred  to  see  him 
using  the  public  funds  for  pensioning  noble  spendthrifts, 
and  the  populace  grumbled  because  he  fed  them  poorly 
and  provided  no  gladiatorial  shows.  It  was  in  vain  that 
he  gave  the  senate  a  larger  share  in  the  government  than 


Delations  221 

it  had  enjoyed  under  Augustus,  and  especially  increased 
its  importance  by  doing  away  with  the  assemblies.  The 
reaction  in  favor  of  republicanism  grew  so  strong  among 
the  nobility  that  it  drove  the  emperor  to  a  rigorous  enforce- 
ment of  the  law  of  treason.  Having  no  public  prosecutor,  P.  218. 
Rome  had  always  depended  upon  private  informers,  termed  Delations. 
delators,  for  bringing  accusations.  Encouraged  by  Tiberius, 
these  informers  caused  the  death  of  several  persons  for 
treason,  a  few  of  whom  may  have  been  innocent.  Not  only 
the  suspicious  temper  of  the  prince  but  also  the  moral 
degradation  of  society  made  the  delations  terrible.  Greed, 
hatred,  enjoyment  of  bloodshed,  —  in  brief,  all  vicious  and 
criminal  passions  were  at  their  height  under  the  early 
empire.  No  one  felt  safe;  for  each  rightly  judged  his 
neighbor  by  himself;  and  the  emperor  could  hardly  restrain 
the  senate  from  condemning  men  for  the  most  trivial 
offences.  This  body  was  now  the  court  for  the  punishment 
of  misrule  in  the  provinces  as  well  as  of  other  political 
crimes. 

The  first  half  of   his  reign  he  passed  in  Rome,  the  re-   Capri, 
mainder  in  Capri,  an  island  off  the  Bay  of  Naples.     "Its 
air  in  winter  is  soft,  as  it  is  screened  by  a  mountain  which 
protects  it  against  cutting  winds.     In  summer  it  catches   Tacitus, An- 
the  breeze,  and  the  open  sea  around  renders  it  most  delight-   "a/s' Iv' 6?" 
ful.     It  commanded,   too,   a  prospect  of  the  most  lovely 
bay,  till  Vesuvius,  bursting  into  flames,  changed  the  face 
of  the  country."     From  this  retreat  he  still  watched  over 
the  government,  while  he  left  the  direct  management  to 
Sejanus,  prefect  of  the  pretorian  guard  which  Augustus  had 
formed  for  the  security  of  the  prince.     This  man,  too,  con- 
spired against  the  emperor,  and  suffered  death  for  his  treason. 

Tiberius  grew  more  and  more  hateful  to  the   nobility   character  of 
and  to  the  Roman  mob.     Not  that  he  was  especially  cruel     1.enus- 


222 


DyarcJiy 


Caligula 
emperor, 
37-41  A.I). 
Suetonius, 
Caligula. 


or  vicious;  he  seems  rather  to  have  been  a  stern,  unsym- 
pathetic moralist,  whose  criticisms  on  the  baseness  of  the 
nobles  brought  upon  himself  the  groundless  retort  that  he 
was  far  worse  than  they.  He  was  unsocial,  tactless,  and  eco- 
nomical, —  qualities  which  would  have  made  any  emperor 
unpopular.      Notwithstanding  his  faults,  he  was  an  able, 


The  Palace  of  Caligula 

(On  the  Palatine.) 

conscientious  ruler,  and  deserves  to  be  counted  with  Julius 
and  Augustus  as  one  of  the  three  founders  of  the  empire. 

On  the  death  of  Tiberius,  37  a.d.,  the  senate  conferred 
the  imperial  powers  upon  his  grandnephew  Gaius,  son  of 
Germanicus.  The  new  prince  is  better  known  as  Caligula, 
—  Little  Boot, — a  nickname  given  him  by  his  father's 
troops  who  were  fond  of  him.  He  was  a  favorite,  too,  of 
the  senate  and  people,  who  lovingly  cherished  the  mem- 
ory of  his  deceased  father.     For  a  time  after  his  accession 


Caligula  223 

he  won  popularity  by  squandering  the  treasury  on  public 
amusements.  His  health  was  poor  and  his  mind  unsound, 
so  that  excitement  and  dissipation  soon  made  him  insane. 
Thereafter  his  life  was  a  series  of  extravagant  and  grotesque 
caprices.  He  took  especial  delight  in  inflicting  pain;  it 
seems  that  all  the  brutal  and  murderous  instincts  of  the 
Romans  were  now  concentrated  in  their  mad  ruler.  He 
showed,  too,  an  excessive  craving  to  be  a  god;  though 
other  emperors  were  regularly  deified  after  death,  he 
demanded  worship  while  he  still  lived,  and  even  chal- 
lenged the  statue  of  Jupiter  to  fight  with  him.  Fortunately 
he  did  not  live  long  enough  to  make  his  tyranny  widely 
felt.  He  was  killed  by  some  officers  of  the  pretorian  p.  221. 
guard;  and,  in  the  hope  of  a  republic,  the  senate  pro- 
claimed the  assassins  "restorers  of  liberty." 

Beginning  with  Julius  Caesar,  each  emperor  thus  far  had   The  Julian 
adopted  his  successor.    Although  with  the  death  of  Caligula 
the  rule  passed  to  another  family,  the  name  Caesar  contin- 
ued as  an  imperial  title,  and  has  even  descended  to  the 
monarchs  of  two  great  modern  states. 

Sources 

Augustus,  Deeds  (Jlfonumentutn  Ancyranum,  an  inscription  of  the  Reading. 
highest  value  for  the  reign  of  Augustus)  ;  Tacitus,  Annals,  i-vi ;  Vel- 
leius  Paterculus  ii.  88-131  ;  Dio  Cassius,  li-lix  (German  translation)  ; 
Suetonius,  Aitgustus  ;  Tiberius;  Caligula;  Josephus,  Antiquities  of 
the  Jews,  xviii.  6-xix.  2;  Florus  iv.  12  ;  Eutropius  vii.  7-12  ;  the  works 
of  Horace,  Vergil,  Ovid,  and  other  poets,  are  valuable  for  the  manners, 
morals,  and  intellectual  life  of  the  age.  Cf.  Botsford,  Story  of  Rome, 
ch.  ix. 

Modern  Works 

Duruy,  History  of  Rome  (III,  IV),  chs.  lxii-lxxiv  ;  Merivale,  His- 
tory of  the  Romans  under  the  Empire  (III-V),  chs.  xxix-xlviii  ;  Bury, 
Student's   Roman    Empire,  chs.    i-xiv  ;    Taylor,    Constitutional  and 


224  Dyarchy 

Political  History  of  Rome,  chs.  xvii-xix  ;  Capes,  Early  Empire 
(epochs),  chs.  i-iii,  xii-xix  ;  Allcroft  and  Haydon,  Early  Principate 
(tutorial)  ;  Arnold,  Roman  Provincial  Administration,  ch.  iii ;  Momm- 
sen,  Provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire  (consult  Index)  ;  Beesly,  Catiline, 
Clodius,  and  Tiberius  ;  Rydberg,  Roman  Days,  pp.  I -47  ('Emperors 
in  Marble');  Inge,  Society  under  the  Ccesars ;  Mackail,  Latin  Litera- 
ture, bk.  II  ;  Cruttwell,  History  of  Roman  Literature,  bk.  II.  pt.  ii  ; 
Simcox,  Latin  Literature,  I.  pt.  iii  ;  Tyrrell,  Latin  Poetry,  lects.  v,  vi  ; 
Sellar,  L\'oman  Poets  of  the  Augustan  Age,  2  vols. 


H 


THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE 

FKOM 

AUGUSTUS  to  DIOCLETIAN 


. 


SCALE   OF   MILES 


100  200  300  400  500 

Boundary  at  Death  of  Augustus; 
Beyond  this  the  later  additions. 
.Italic*,-  Barbarian  races  which,  after  Marcus 
Aurelius.  appear  in  the  places  indicated. 


For  Chapters  X  •  XII. 
For  Koine  see  pa--'*  "1! 


rflf  9Y  80AUAY    & 


Claudius 

(Capitoline  Museum,  Rome.) 

CHAPTER   X 

FROM  DYARCHY  TO  MONARCHY 

(41-96  A.D.) 

The  Claudian  and  the  Flavian  Emperors 

"  My  ancestors,  the  most  ancient  of  whom  was  made  at  once  a  citi- 
zen and  a  noble  of  Rome,  encouraged  me  to  govern  by  the  same  policy 
of  transferring  to  this  city  all  conspicuous  merit,  wherever  found." 

—  Claudius,  quoted  by  Tacitus,  Annals,  xi.  24. 

The  senate  would  have  had  the  imperial  government  end   Claudius 
with  the  Julian  line  :  but  while  it  deliberated  on  the  crisis,   emperor' 

J  >  '     41-54  A.D. 

the  pretorians  made  a  new  prince.      These  guards,  whose 
existence  depended  upon  the  continuance  of  the  present    Pp.  221, 223. 
Q  225 


226 


From  DyarcJiy  to  Monarchy 


Suetonius, 
Claudius  ; 
Tacitus, 
Annals,  xi.  i- 
xii.  67. 


He  favors  the 
provinces. 

Pp.  193,  209. 

Tacitus, 
Annals,  xi. 

23-25- 

P.  36. 

Cf.  Duruy, 
Rome,  iv. 
P-  536. 

Dio  Cassius, 
lx.  11. 


Suetonius, 
Claudius,  17. 

Pp.  i86,  238. 


Humane  leg- 
islation. 


P.  343- 


form  of  government,  were  now  the  conservative  power  in 
the  capital ;  by  opposing  a  return  to  the  republic,  they 
saved  the  empire  from  anarchy.  Their  nominee  was  Clau- 
dius, uncle  of  the  late  prince.  Grotesque  in  manners  and 
lacking  dignity  and  mental  balance,  he  was  generally  con- 
sidered a  learned  fool.  We  are  surprised  therefore  to 
find  him  making  his  reign  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  in 
imperial  history. 

Whereas  Augustus  had  aimed  to  keep  the  provinces  infe- 
rior to  Italy,  Claudius,  by  his  readiness  in  granting  citi- 
zenship to  the  subjects,  restored  Julius  Caesar's  policy  of 
equalizing  the  rights  of  the  empire.  His  own  birth  in  the 
provincial  city  of  Lyons,1  together  with  his  scholarship,  broad- 
ened his  political  vision  as  well  as  his  sympathy,  so  that  he 
rediscovered,  in  liberality,  the  secret  of  Roman  greatness. 
We  see  another  proof  of  breadth  of  view  in  his  words  to  the 
Jews,  whose  religious  freedom  Caligula  had  hampered, 
"  It  is  right  that  men  should  live  in  the  religion  of  their 
country."  In  appointing  governors  of  provinces,  he  used 
to  say,  "  Do  not  thank  me,  for  I  do  you  no  favor,  but  call 
you  to  share  with  me  the  burdens  of  government ;  and  I 
shall  thank  you  if  you  fulfil  your  duty  well."  For  the  first 
time  the  Romans  heard  that  office  was  not  merely  an  honor, 
but  a  trust  to  be  faithfully  discharged.  Mingled  with  this 
humane  wisdom  was  firmness  in  punishing  offenders,  in  put- 
ting down  revolts,  and  in  protecting  frontiers.  One  of  his 
generals  conquered  southern  Britain  and  made  of  it  a  Roman 
province. 

His  home  policy  was  marked  by  humane  legislation  in 
favor  of  slaves.  As  many,  to  save  themselves  trouble  and 
expense,  were  accustomed  to  expose  their  sick  slaves  on  the 
island  of  /Esculapius,  the  doctor  god,  Claudius  enacted  that 

1  Ancient  Lugdunum. 


Claudius  227 

all  who  were  treated  thus  should  be  free,  and  that  any  one  Suetonius, 
who  killed  a  sick  or  aged  slave  should  be  liable  to  the  pen- 
alty for  murder.  Another  care  was  to  prevent  famine  at 
Rome  by  keeping  the  city  well  supplied  with  grain.  With 
this  end  in  view,  he  insured  importers  against  loss  by  storms 
at  sea  ;  "  he  granted  great  privileges  to  those  who  built  ships 
for  that  traffic  ;  "  and  he  dug  a  new  harbor  at  Ostia.  He  also  lb.  19  f 
built  two  magnificent  aqueducts,  begun  by  his  predecessor, 
one  of  which,  named  after  himself,  the  Claudia,  was  noted 
for  the  purity  of  the  water.  Later  emperors  continued  to 
build  aqueducts,  till  all  of  them  together  poured  into  Rome 
more  fresh  water  each  day  than  the  Tibes  now  empties  into 
the  sea. 

The  relation  of  Claudius  with  the  senate  we  may  charac-   Claudius  en- 
croaches on 
terize  as  armed  peace.     Notwithstanding  many  plots  against  the  senate. 

his  life,  he  would  have  no  informers  or  law  of  treason,  but 

preferred  to  surround  himself  with  soldiers,  who  even  waited   Suetonius, 

.     1    1  •         •  1  1  Claudius,  13, 

on  his  table  and  accompanied  him  into  the  senate-house.  jg  ^  ^ 
Though  he  respected  the  senate,  he  did  not  trust  it ;  and  he 
had  himself  made  censor  to  weed  out  the  most  disloyal  mem- 
bers. It  was  chiefly  through  the  censorship  that  succeeding 
emperors  encroached  upon  the  senate  till  they  usurped  all  Pp.  211,  238. 
its  powers.  His  distrust  of  the  nobles  and  knights  led  him, 
further,  to  employ  his  own  freedmen  as  helpers  and  minis- 
ters. They  were  probably  as  able  and  as  honest  as  the  sen- 
ators,—  which  is  no  high  praise, —  and  they  were  certainly 
more  faithful  to  the  prince.  His  employment  of  them,  how- 
ever, was  another  step  in  the  direction  of  monarchy. 

The  worst  feature  of  the  reign  of  Claudius  was  the  evil   Neroemperor, 
influence  of  his  wives,  the  last  of  whom  was  Agrippina,  his   54~    A-U 

Suetonius, 

niece.     When  he  died,  54  a.d.,  people  suspected  that  she   Nero.  Taci. 
had  poisoned  him.     However  that  may  be,  she  secured  the   tus,  Annals, 

,  r  \  Xii.68-XVi.35. 

imperial  powers  to  Nero,  her  son  by  a  former  marriage.     As 


228 


From  DyarcJiy  to  MonarcJiy 


the  new  emperor  was  only  seventeen  years  of  age  and  showed 
more  taste  for  dancing  and  music  than  for  official  work,  the 
government  for  the  first  ten  years  of  his  reign  was  in  the 
hands  of  Seneca,  his  tutor,  and  Burrus,  pretorian  prefect. 
Both  were  able  men  and,  on  the  whole,  well  meaning. 


Agrippina  —  Mother  ok  Nero 

(National  Museum,  Naples.) 


Seneca. 

I  )uruy, 
Rome,  iv. 

p.  572  ff. 


Seneca  was  a  rhetorician  and  a  philosopher  of  the  Stoic 
school,  which  taught  that  virtue  alone  is  sufficient  for 
happiness,  that  a  man  should  rise  above  all  passions  and 
follow  the  higher  motives  of  reason.     Man,  it  asserted,  is 


The  Provinces  229 

lord  of  his  own  life  and  may  end  it  when  he  thinks  fit. 
This  severe,  practical  philosophy  suited  well  the  character 
of  the  Romans.  From  the  later  republic  to  the  adoption 
of  Christianity,  many  found  in  it  a  guide  to  self-discipline. 
But  though  Seneca  studied  more  deeply  than  any  Roman 
before  him,  though  he  saw  clearly  the  beauty  of  truth,  of 
kindness,  of  all  the  virtues,  he  lacked  the  moral  force  nec- 
essary for  living  up  to  his  convictions.  While  preaching 
poverty,  he  amassed  a  colossal  fortune  by  dishonest  means; 
and  so  far  from  checking  the  vices  of  the  young  prince, 
he  even  aided  him  in  crime. 

As  Seneca  was  born  in  Spain,  he  had  no  reason  for  The  prov- 
favoring  Rome  and  Italy  more  than  the  provinces.  To  be 
sure  he  and  Burrus  plundered  some  of  them,  but  they 
would  permit  no  others  to  do  so.  Accordingly  the  empire 
prospered  under  their  administration.  From  the  begin- 
ning of  the  imperial  period,  too,  the  subjects  had  been 
gaining  great  influence  over  the  appointment  and  the  con- 
duct of  their  rulers.  The  complaints  cf  a  province  gen- 
erally led  to  the  deposition  and  punishment  of  the  governor; 
at  the  end  of  his  term  a  vote  of  thanks  by  the  provincial 
assembly  assured  him  further  political  advancement.  "  For-  Tacitus, 
merlv,"    said   Thrasea    in    the   senate,    "not  praetors  and      m  '  ' 

J  '  XV.  21 

consuls  alone,  but  even  private  citizens  used  to  be  sent  to  (abridged), 
provinces  to  inspect  them  and  report  on  the  loyalty  of  the 
subjects;  -and  the  nations  were  timidly  sensitive  to  the 
opinion  even  of  these  private  persons.  But  now  it  is  we 
who  carry  our  homage  and  flattery  to  them.  The  meanest 
of  them  decrees  thanks,  or  more  eagerly  accusations,  con- 
cerning us.  So  each  administration  begins  firmly  but  ends 
feebly,  —  our  proconsuls  are  no  longer  severe  judges,  but 
rather  candidates  for  popular  suffrage."  The  speaker,  a 
narrow  republican,    did   not  know  how  glorious  was   this 


230 


From  Dyarchy  to  Monarchy 


Tacitus, 
Annals, 
xiv.  43  ft". 


Death  of 
Burrus  and 
of  Seneca. 


Personal  rule 
of  Nero, 

64-68  A.I). 


I  acitus,  An- 
nals, xv.  44. 


change  which  had  come  over  the  world.  "  Let  the  pro- 
vincials retain  the  right  to  accuse  for  extortion,"  he  con- 
tinued, "for  we  cannot  take  it  from  them,  but  let  us  take 
away  their  right  of  voting  thanks  to  ex-governors. "  Although 
this  evil  resolution  was  adopted,  fortunately  it  fell  into  dis- 
use at  the  death  of  Nero.  Another  improvement  in  the 
condition  of  the  human  race  came  with  the  law  requiring 
the  prefect  of  the  city  and  the  governors  of  provinces  to 
receive  the  complaints  of  slaves  who  were  suffering  ill- 
treatment  from  their  masters.  An  ancient  custom  which 
demanded  the  death  of  all  slaves  whose  masters  had  been 
assassinated  so  shocked  the  feelings  of  the  people  in  this 
reign  that  it  could  be  enforced  only  with  the  help  of  the 
soldiers. 

Burrus  died  in  62  a.m.,  and  as  Nero  began  to  take  the 
government  into  his  own  hands,  Seneca  retired  to  private 
life.  Accused  of  sharing  in  a  conspiracy,  he  killed  him- 
self by  order  of  the  emperor.  The  men  of  this  age  did 
not  hesitate  to  die,  but  they  knew  not  how  to  live  and  fight 
for  freedom  and  principle.  By  recommending  suicide, 
Stoicism  aided  tyranny. 

Though  the  personal  rule  of  Nero  was  a  capricious 
despotism,  it  was  short,  and  reached  the  provinces  only 
when  near  its  end.  He  was  vain  and  extravagant,  but  his 
acts  of  cruelty  were  few.  In  estimating  his  character  we 
must  bear  in  mind  that  Roman  society  was  then  a  cess- 
pool of  impurity,  "where  all  things  hideous  and  shameful 
from  every  part  of  the  world  found  their  centre  and 
became  popular."  Nero  stood  above  the  average  Roman 
in  taste  and  perhaps  even  in  morals;  the  prince  was 
worthy  of  his  people.  At  least,  he  usually  avoided  the 
bloody  shows  of  the  arena  and  interested  himself  in  harm- 
less arts.     When  a  great  fire  destroyed  the  larger  part  of 


The  Christians  231 

Rome,    he   sheltered   and    fed   the    sufferers,    and    helped    Nero  was 

,  ...  ,,        himself  sus- 

rebuild  their  houses.     The  worst  blot  on  his  reign  was  the   pected  with 
persecution  of  the  Christians  on  the  groundless  suspicion  little  reason. 
that  they  had  caused  the  mischief.     Many  were  condemned. 
"Mockery  of  every  sort  was  added  to  their  deaths.     Cov-   lb. 
ered  with  the  skins  of  beasts,  they  were  torn  by  dogs  and 
perished,   or  were  nailed  to  crosses,  or  were  doomed  to 
flames  and  burned  to  serve  as  a  nightly  illumination"  of 
the  prince's  gardens.     The  Romans,  who  as  yet  knew  little 
of  the   Christians,  considered  them  a  sect  of  Jews,   and 
despised  them  because  they  then  belonged  to  the  lowest 
class  of  society.     Nero's  persecution,  however,  was  only  a 
sudden  outburst  of  ferocity  which  did  not  extend  beyond 
the  city. 

There  was  a  fundamental  difference  between  the  Chris-   christians 
tians  and  the  best  of  the  Romans  of  this  age;  while  Seneca  and    omans 
conceived  high  ideals  of  virtue,   which  he   expressed   in 
sounding  words,  St.  Paul,  his  contemporary,  lived  and  died 
nobly.      Abundantly  supplied  with   ideas,    the  old  world 
had  grown  too  feeble  to  produce  a  hero;  the  Christians, 
however  ignorant,  stubborn,  and  even  quarrelsome  some   P.  263. 
of  them  may  have  been,  were  making  the  world  new  by 
bringing  into  it  the  spirit  of  their  perfect  Master. 

Reaching  the  provinces  at  last,  the  tyranny  of  Nero  The  end  of 
stirred  up  revolt,  and  the  empire  rapidly  drifted  away 
from  him.  Galba,  governor  of  Hither  Spain,  was  pro- 
claimed emperor.  Nero  fled  from  the  city  and  took  refuge 
in  a  dingy  cell  provided  by  a  freedman.  A  few  attendants 
stood  about  him.  "Some  one  show  me  how  to  die,"  he 
begged,  but  no  one  obeyed.  The  end  was  drawing  near. 
The  senate  had  declared  him  a  public  enemy,  and  he 
heard  the  tramp  of  approaching  horses.  "  Pity  that  such  Suetonius, 
an  artist  should  die  !  "  he  said  as  he  stabbed  himself.  ™'49' 


232 


From  Dyarchy  to  Monarchy 


The  military 
revolution, 
68-69  A.D. 

Tacitus,  His- 
tories, i-iii ; 
Suetonius, 
Galba;  Olho; 
Vitellius. 


An  able  ruler  of  his  province,  Galba  was  too  indiscreet 
and  obstinate  to  be  successful  in  his  new  and  trying  posi- 
tion. After  ruling  a  few  months  he  was  killed  by  the 
pretorians,  who  transferred  their  allegiance  to  Otho,  once 
a  roisterer  in  Nero's  youthful  society.  The  troops  on  the 
Rhine,  however,  nominated  their  general  Vitellius  to  the 
imperial  office  and  marched  with  him  against  Rome.    After 


A  Triumphal  Procession  with  the  Seven  Golden  Candlesticks 

(A  Relief  on  the  Arch  of  Titus.) 


P.  205. 


a  feeble  resistance  Otho  killed  himself.  Vitellius,  now 
emperor,  though  a  good-natured  man,  was  a  sluggard  and 
a  monstrous  eater.  He  used  to  invite  himself  to  dine  with 
one  noble  after  another,  and  generally  bankrupted  his  host 
by  a  single  meal.  Meantime  Vespasian,  procurator  of 
Judea,  was  offered  the  imperial  purple  by  the  troops  of  the 
East,  who  in  turn  overcame  and  killed  Vitellius.  Thus  in 
little  more  than  twelve  months,  Rome  saw  the  making  of 


Vespasian  233 

four  emperors,  one  a  candidate  of  the  pretorians,  the 
others  of  the  armies  of  the  frontier.  It  was  natural  that 
those  who  protected  the  empire  should  claim  a  voice  in 
selecting  the  ruler,  and  that,  in  the  absence  of  a  repre- 
sentative system,  the  armies,  in  substituting  civil  war  for 
the  ballot,  should  take  the  place  of  the  old  republican 
assemblies.  This  military  revolution  had  some  good  results  : 
it  lessened  the  political  value  of  the  capital,  and  it  ended 
in  giving  the  empire  an  able  ruler.  In  fact  Vespasian  was 
the  first  in  a  line  of  princes  trained  in  the  camp,  — uncor- 
rupted  by  the  impure  atmosphere  of  Rome,  able,  experi- 
enced, and  broad-minded, — who  were  to  give  the  empire 
its  most  prosperous  era. 

In  appearance  as  well  as  in  birth  Vespasian  was  plebeian.    Vespasian 

,  ,  •  ,     1  1       1  j       1  •  emperor, 

He  was   short  and  stumpy,   with  large  neck,    broad  chin,  6        AD_ 
and  hooked  nose;  his  little  eyes  never  rested,  and  his  face 

was  deeply  furrowed  with  care.      On  his  accession  he  had  Tacitus, 

great  difficulties  to  meet,  for  again  the  empire  seemed  on  . 

°  o  1  iv,  v; 

the   verge   of   disruption.      For   some   time   the   Jews   had    Suetonius, 
been   in   fierce   revolt   against    rulers   who    had   oppressed    VesPasian- 

Josephus, 

them  and  had  permitted  insults  to  their  religion.     Their   'yewis/i  War. 

uprising  threw  the  entire  East  into  a  ferment,  while  in  the 

West,  Civilis,  a  freedman,  aspiring  to  the   imperial  office, 

led  the  tribes  of  the  lower  Rhine  in  rebellion,  and  at  the 

same  time  the  recent  civil  war  made  the  future  of  Rome 

itself  uncertain. 

The  emperor  was  equal  to  the  emergency.      One  of  his   Titus 
generals  suppressed  the  revolt  in  Gaul;  his  own  son,  Titus,    jerus^em 
was  left  in  Judea  to  besiege  Jerusalem,  the  strongly  fortified   7°  A-D- 
capital  of  the  Jews.      As  they  refused  to  accept  any  terms 
offered  them,  no  quarter  was  thereafter  given.      It  was  a 
war  to  death.     The  Jews  believed  that  God  would  protect 
his    holy    temple,    and    that    at    the   critical    moment    the 


2  34 


From  Dyarchy  to  Monarchy 


Messiah  would  come  to  save  his  people  from  the  oppressor 
and  to  make  them  rulers  of  the  world.  They  fought  there- 
fore with  fanatic  zeal,  and  as  famine  threatened  they  even 
ate  human  flesh.  When,  after  a  five  months'  siege,  the 
Romans  stormed  the  city  and  the  temple,  the  Jews  killed 
their  wives,  their  children,  and  then  one  another  as  the  lot 
determined,  so  that  the  victors  found  nothing  but  flames 
and  death.  More  than  a  million  Jews  were  destroyed 
during  the  siege;  not  a  hundred  thousand  were  taken  cap- 
tive.    It   is   interesting  to  notice  that  the  temple  of  the 


ENGflAVEO  BY  BORMAY   &    CO.,    N.Y- 


O.IT,  BeUjorl,  Dtl. 


The  Sacred  Way 


Capitoline  Jupiter  was  burned  about  the  same  time  as  that 
of  Jehovah;  but  while  the  Roman  god  soon  received  a  new 
dwelling,  Jehovah's  temple  remained  in  ruins;  his  worship 
could  no  longer  be  limited  to  a  single  house  or  province, 
for  it  was  to  be  universal. 

'This  reign  began  a  new  era  in  the  relations  between  the 
senate  and  the  emperor.  As  the  old  republican  nobility, 
which  had  considered  the  prince  a  usurper,  was  now  dying 
out,  Vespasian  recruited  it  with  new  families  from  Italy 
and  the  provinces,  —  the  ablest  and  the  most  loyal  he  could 
I*.  138-  find.     Thus  the  senatorial  order  became  again  a  nobility 


Better  feel- 
ing between 
theprinceand 
the  senate. 

mius. 


Public    Works  235 

of  merit,  which  henceforth,  instead  of  conspiring  against 
the    prince,   generally    supported    him.     The   knights,  re- 
cruited in  like  manner,  devoted  themselves  in  increasing   pp.  227,  252. 
numbers  to  the  imperial  service. 

These  provincial  families  brought  better  morals  into  the  Better  morals 
society  of  the  capital,  to  replace  the  depraved  life  which  tion 
Rome  had  inherited  from  the  republic.  There  was  a 
corresponding  change  in  education.  Whereas  the  old 
families  had  trained  their  children  in  republican  traditions 
by  means  of  private  tutors,  the  sons  of  the  new  nobility 
learned  the  broader  and  more  wholesome  lessons  of  the 
present  under  public  instructors  endowed  by  the  emperor. 
Quintilian,  a  famous  rhetorician,  occupied  such  an  endowed 
position  for  twenty  years. 

Nero  and  his  immediate  successors  had  neglected  the  Public  works 
roads,  the  fortifications,  and  the  public  buildings,  and  yet 
had  left  the  government  nearly  bankrupt.  To  refill  the 
treasury  and  to  repair  the  public  works,  Vespasian  increased 
the  taxes  of  the  empire.  With  his  careful  management  of 
the  revenues,  he  had  money  for  education,  for  the  help  of 
unfortunate  cities  in  the  provinces,  and  for  new  buildings 
at  Rome.  The  most  famous  of  his  works  is  an  immense 
amphitheatre,  usually  known  as  the  Colosseum,  on  the  low  The  Coios- 
oround  surrounded  by  the  Palatine,  the  Esquiline,  and  the    seum  (Ha~ 

6  .  vlan  Amphi- 

Caelian  Hills.      It  has  the  form  of  an  ellipse,  and  is  said  to   theatre), 
have  seated  eighty-seven  thousand  spectators.      Here  the    P.  347. 
Roman  people  gathered  to  see  the  combats  of  gladiators, 
and  of  men  and  savage  beasts.     Sometimes,  too,  the  arena 
was  converted   into  a   lake,   on  which   naval   battles   were 
fought.      No  other  monument  now  standing  illustrates  so 
well  the  grandeur  and  the  depravity  of  Rome.     As  Ves- 
pasian died  before  completing  this  work,  Titus  finished  it.    The  Arch  of 
The  latter  also  erected  the  arch  which  bears  his  name,  at   Tltus> 


236 


From  Dyarchy  to  Monarchy 


the  highest  point  of  the  Sacred  Way  which  leads  from  the 
Colosseum  through  the  Forum  to  the  Capitoline  Hill. 
This  arch  commemorates  the  conquest  of  the  Jews.  The 
reliefs  represent  features  of  the  triumphal  procession:  on 
one  side,  the  car  of  Titus;  on  the  other,  men  carrying  the 


jsaqe? 


The  Colosseum  or  Flavian  Amphitheatre 


Titus  em- 
peror, 79-81 

A.D. 

Suetonius, 
Titus,  1. 


lb.  8. 


spoils,   including  the  "  seven  golden  candlesticks  "  of  the 
temple  at  Jerusalem. 

Titus  had  quietly  succeeded  his  father.  His  benevo- 
lence toward  citizens  and  subjects  alike  made  him  the 
most  popular  of  the  emperors,  "the  delight  and  the  darling 
of  mankind."'  "Of  all  who  petitioned  for  any  favor,  he 
sent  none  away  without  hopes.  Ami  when  his  ministers 
represented  to  him  that  he  promised  more  than  he  could 
perform,  he  replied,  'No  one  ought  to  go  away  downcast 
from  his  prince.'  Once  at  supper,  reflecting  that  he  had 
favored  no  one  that  day,  he  uttered  this  memorable  and 
justly  admired  Saying,  'My  friends,  I  have  lost  a  day.' 
\^  chief  pontiff  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  keep  his  hands 
undefiled;   and  accordingly  after  accepting  that  office  he 


Pompeii 


237 


would  condemn  no  man  to  death,  however  great  might  be 
the  offence.  In  fact  he  was  too  indulgent  to  be  just;  this 
easy  temper  made  his  successor's  task  more  difficult. 

The  chief  event  of  his  reign  was  an  eruption  of  Vesuvius.    Destruction 
For  ages  this  volcano  had  been  inactive,  so  that  the  Cam-   °     ompeil> 

°  79  A.D. 

panians  had  fearlessly  covered   its   sides  with   vineyards, 

while  wild  boars  inhabited  the  woods  on  the  top.     In  the    Pliny,  Let- 

reign   of    Nero   an   earthquake    shook    all    Campania    and   ters>  "' l6- 

injured  the  cities  near  the  mountain.     Finally,  in  79  a.d., 

the  fearful  eruption  took  place  which  buried  Pompeii,  a 

city   of    twenty   thousand    inhabitants,    Herculaneum,    and 

some  smaller  places.     In  bringing  Pompeii  to  light,  —  its 


"       :•:'-.  ' 

mi 

^0B^^^^^00WP-- "* "  V-                                                                      ,j(|\ 

'£*          1 

' \~  1 

"                                                                                         ■                                                              M| 

,~"           A  1 

4           .:<•                                                                                    -~     - 

A  Body  found  in  Pompeii 

(Museum  of  Pompeii.) 


temples,  .shops,  and  dwellings,  with  their  statues,  wall- 
paintings,  furniture,  and  tools,  —  modern  excavations 
have  afforded  an  invaluable  opportunity  for  the  study  of 
ancient  life  and  civilization. 

After  ruling  but  two  years  Titus  died  and  was  succeeded   Domitian 
by  Domitian,  his  younger  brother.     Unlike  Titus,  the  new   ^raperor' 

3  J  °  81-96  A.I). 

prince  was  interested  in  books,  but  without  experience  in   Suetonius, 
military  affairs.     Though   the  empire  was  rarely  at  peace,    Domitian. 


238 


From  Dyarchy  to  Monarchy 


The  northern 
frontier. 

Tacitus, 
Agricola, 


P.  251. 


The  Dacian 
War,  85-89 

A.D. 


The  adminis- 
tration. 
Suetonius, 
Domitian,  8. 


P.  227. 


his  reign  was  noted  for  unusual  activity  along  the  northern 
frontier.  Agricola,  an  able  general,  extended  the  boundary 
of  the  province  of  Britain  to  Caledonia,  the  modern  Scot- 
land, and  built  a  frontier  wall  from  the  Frith  of  Clyde  to 
the  Frith  of  Forth.  The  emperor  himself  took  the  field 
against  the  Germans.  During  his  reign  the  troops  in  this 
quarter  were  engaged  in  building  a  wall  and  a  series  of 
forts  from  the  upper  Rhine  to  the  upper  Danube.  These 
defences,  begun  by  Vespasian  and  completed  long  after- 
ward by  Hadrian,  protected  an  exposed  part  of  the 
boundary.  In  fact  a  line  of  fortresses  extended  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Rhine  to  the  mouth  of  the  Danube.  The 
Dacians,  who  lived  north  of  the  Danube  and  who  were 
fast  adopting  Roman  civilization,  invaded  the  empire. 
In  his  war  with  them  Domitian  met  with  so  little  success 
that  he  granted  them  favorable  terms  of  peace,  and  gave 
their  chief  valuable  presents,  which  the  enemies  of  the 
prince  maliciously  termed  tribute. 

Throughout  his  reign  Domitian  held  the  government 
firmly  in  hand.  Able  men  commanded  on  the  frontier, 
and  the  provinces  were  probably  never  better  ruled  than 
under  him.  At  home  he  chastised  vice  with  an  iron  hand, 
and  tried  to  force  upon  society  the  austere  moral  standard 
of  the  primitive  Romans.  An  autocrat  by  nature,  he 
worked  systematically  to  gain  entire  control  of  the  gov- 
ernment and  to  put  the  senate  beneath  him.  With  this 
end  in  view,  he  held  the  consulship  continually  and  had 
himself  made  perpetual  censor,  while  he  gained  the  sup- 
port of  the  troops  by  increasing  their  pay.  His  hatred  of 
the  senators  was  inflamed  by  the  discovery  that  many  of 
them  shared  in  the  conspiracy  of  Saturninus,  a  rebellious 
governor  of  Upper  Germany.  From  that  time  to  the  end 
of   his  reign,    he  was  a   terror    to   the   nobility  as  well  as 


Literature  239 

to  the   Stoics,  whose   teachings   glorified  conspiracy  and   Tacitus, 
"tyrannicide."      Meantime  a  plot  developed  in  his  own   4gricola,*  . 
household.     His  wife  Domitia,  fearing  for  her  own  safety, 
induced  some  servants  and  pretorians  to  murder  him. 

"Like    their  god  Janus,    the   Roman   emperors  have  a   The  emperor 

,     .  .    ,  has  a  double 

double  face."     In  estimating  their  character  we  must  bear  face 

in  mind  that  the  one  most  hateful  to  the  nobility  was  often  Duruy,  His- 

the  most  just  and  merciful  protector  of  the  provinces.     So  tory  °-'    °me' 

it  was  with  Domitian.     History  composed  in  the  senatorial 

circle  has  branded  him  a  tyrant;  if  the  subject  nations  p.  257. 

could  speak,  they  would  bless  his  memory. 

The  intellectual  life  of  this  period  is  closely  connected  Literature  of 

1  the  period. 

with  the  political  development.  The  literary  activity  of 
the  Age  of  Augustus  was  too  brilliant  to  be  lasting.  Even 
before  his  death  a  decline  set  in  from  two  causes :  first, 
from  mere  exhaustion  of  literary  energy;  and  second,  from 
the  changed  relation  between  the  prince  and  the  writers. 
Weary  at  length  of  sounding  the  praises  of  their  patron, 
these  republican  spirits  showed  their  real  nature  to  be  hos- 
tile to  the  new  government.  Their  conduct  drove  Augus- 
tus to  harsh  measures,  —  for  instance,  to  the  banishment  of 
Ovid.  Developing  the  later  policy  of  Augustus,  Tiberius  P.  218. 
not  only  refused  to  patronize  literature,  but  even  repressed 
freedom  of  speech.  He  acted  on  the  correct  understand- 
ing that  writers  and  speakers  alike  voiced  the  sentiments 
of  the  nobjlity  who  opposed  him.  Had  that  party  striven 
manfully  to  limit  the  power  of  the  prince,  or  to  displace 
him  by  a  better  form  of  government,  it  would  have  claimed 
a  large  share  of  our  sympathy.  But  it  failed  to  create  a 
single  political  idea.  Conscious  that  government  by  the 
senate  was  no  longer  possible,  it  nevertheless  looked  back 
to  the  republic  for  ideals,  — especially  to  the  murderers  of 
Caesar.     Though  the  world  might  admire  individuals  for 


240 


From  Dyarchy  to  Monarchy 


Velleius 
Paterculus. 


Valerius 

Maximus. 


Poetry. 


I'ersius, 
34-62  A.D. 

Lucan, 

39-65  A.K 


their  bold  independence,  it  had  nothing  to  hope  from  a 
party  which  strove  only  to  return  to  a  past  its  impotence 
and  tyranny  had  disgraced. 

In  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  Velleius  Paterculus,  who  had 
long  served  his  emperor  as  an  army  officer,  wrote  a  short 
History  of  Rome  to  the  year  30  a.d.  The  earlier  period  he 
treated  briefly,  his  own  age  with  greater  fulness.  .  Wordy 
and  pompous,  he  is  fairly  accurate  in  his  statements  of 
fact.  Undoubtedly  sincere  in  his  admiration  of  Tiberius, 
he  overflows  with  eulogy,  like  a  partisan  rather  than  a  calm- 
tempered  historian.  The  same  criticism  applies  to  a  con- 
temporary, Valerius  Maximus,  who  wrote  Memorable  Acts 
and  Sayings  in  nine  books.  The  object  seems  to  have 
been  to  supply  the  youth  with  material  for  declamations. 
The  work  is  untrustworthy,  but  contains  some  interesting 
and  useful  information. 

Among  the  Romans,  history  as  well  as  oratory  was  par- 
tisan. With  this  limitation  neither  branch  of  literature 
could  thrive  under  Tiberius  and  his  immediate  successors. 
Poetry  and  philosophy  had  more  scope.  The  Satires  of 
Persius  show  the  author  to  have  been  a  pure-minded 
moralist  imbued  with  Stoicism.  He  wrote  under  Nero. 
About  the  same  time  Lucan,  nephew  of  Seneca,  the  phi- 
losopher, composed  an  epic  poem,  the  Pharsalia,  on  the 
civil  war  between  Cresar  and  Pompey.  Like  his  uncle  he 
was  a  provincial,  and  for  a  time  he  stood  well  at  the  court 
of  Nero.  But  falling  into  disfavor,  he  finished  his  poem 
as  an  ardent  republican.  Afterward  he  was  charged  with 
conspiracy,  and  killed  himself  by  order  of  the  prince. 
Most  writers  of  the  age,  considering  a  simple  style  insipid, 
sought  to  attract  attention  by  rhetorical  bombast,  far- 
fetched metaphors,  and  other  unnatural  devices.  In  this 
respect  they  reflected  the  artificial  society  in  which  they 


Philosophy  and  Science 


241 


lived.     An  exception  to  the  rule  is  Petronius,1  who  wrote 
a   satirical   romance    in   twenty  books,   of   which  we  have 
some  fragments.      He  is  coarse,  yet  natural  and  vigorous, 
and  his  work  throws  light  on  the  corrupt  society  of  the  day. 
Seneca,  the  philosopher,  shared  with  his  age  the  striving 
after  brilliancy  in  language.     Nevertheless  he  gives  evi- 
dence of  the  broader,  deeper  thought  which  the  provinces 
were  bringing  Rome.    A  great 
improvement    in    this    direc- 
tion came  with  the   Flavian 
princes,  who  patronized  liter- 
ature    and    introduced    fresh 
life  from  the  provinces.      In 
this  age  Pliny  the  Elder  wrote 
a  Natural  History  in  thirty- 
seven  books.     In  addition  to 
the    natural    sciences,   it    in- 
cluded geography,  medicine, 
and    art.      An    encyclopaedia 
compiled  from  two  thousand 
different  works,  it  is  a  great 
storehouse      of      knowledge. 
What  Pliny  did    for    science 
Quintilian,  a  native  of  Spain, 
already  mentioned,  achieved 
for  rhetoric.     His  Training  of  the  Orator,  in  twelve  books, 
gives  a  complete  course  in  rhetoric,  beginning  with  the  boy 
and  ending  with  the  well-equipped  public  speaker.     The 
work  is  valuable  not  only  for  the  famous  author's  principles 
of  rhetoric,  but  also  for  his  opinions  of  the  leading  Greek 
and  Latin  writers. 

1  Probably  Nero's  "master  of  pleasure,"  mentioned  by  Tacitus,  An- 
nals, xvi.  18. 


Petronius. 


Philosophy 
and  science. 
Seneca. 
P.  228. 


P.  234. 
Pliny  the 
Elder. 


" Seneca " 

(Museum  of  the  Terme,  Rome.) 


Quintilian, 
35- (about) 

IOO  A.D. 
P-  235- 


Other  fields 
of  learning. 


242 


From  Dyarchy  to  Monarchy 


Other  fields  of  learning  were  cultivated,  as  rural  econ- 
omy, military  strategy,  and  law.  The  tyranny  of  Domitian's 
later  years  again  repressed  literature.  In  his  time  Martial, 
a  pensioned  court  poet,  wrote  brilliant  Epigrams.  Unex- 
celled in  his  special  kind  of  poetry,  he  was  weak  and 
immoral,  and  represents  therefore  the  worst  side  of  society 
rather  than  its  ideals.  Meantime  the  thorough  reforms  of 
Vespasian  were  helping  bring  a  brighter  era,  not  only  in 
political  life,  but  also  in  literature  and  in  morals. 


Sources 

Reading.  Tacitus,  Annals,  xi-xvi  ;    Histories;  Agricola  ;  Dio  Cassius  lx-lxvii 

(after  47  A.n.  in  an  epitome)  ;  Plutarch,  Galba ;  Otho ;  Suetonius, 
Claudius;  Nero;  Galba;  Otho;  Vitellius ;  Vespasian;  Titus;  Do- 
witian ;  Josephus,  Jetvish  War;  Eutropius  vii.  13-22;  works  of 
Lucan,  Seneca,  Petronius,  Persius,  Pliny,  Quintilian,  and  other  con- 
temporary writers  (p.  206  ff)  ;  The  New  Testament.  Cf.  Botsford,  Story 
of  Rome,  ch.  x. 


Modern  "Works 

Duruy,  History  of  Rome  (IV,  V),  chs.  Ixxiv-lxxviii  ;  Merivale,  His- 
tory of  the  Romans  (V,  VI),  chs.  xlix-lxii  ;  Taylor,  Constitutional  and 
Political  History  of  Rome,  ch.  xix  ;  Bury,  Student's  Roman  Empire, 
chs.  xv-xxii  ;  Capes,  Early  Empire  (epochs),  chs.  iv-xix  ;  Allcroft 
and  Haydon,  Early  Principate  (tutorial),  chs.  xii-xx  ;  Baring-Gould, 
'Tragedy  of  the  Cesars,  2  vols.;  Freeman,  Historical  Essays,  ii :  The 
Flavian  Emperors  ;  MahafFy,  Greek  World  under  Roman  Sway,  chs. 
i-xii  ;  Rydberg,  Roman  Days,  pp.  48-147  ('  Emperors  in  Marble  ')  ; 
Dyer.  City  of  Rome,  sec.  iv  ;  Pompeii,  its  History,  Buildings  and 
Antiquities;  Mau,  Pompeii,  its  Life  and  Art;  Boissier,  Rome  and 
Pompeii;  Fisher,  History  of  the  Christian  Church,  pp.  7-44  ;  Farrar, 
Early  Days' of  Christianity,  i.  pp.  I— 77  ;  other  works  on  church  his- 
tory, p.  247  ;  Mackail,  Latin  Literature,  bk.  Ill  ;  C'ruttwell,  History  of 
Roman  Literature,  bk.  III.  chs.  i-vi ;  Simcox,  Latin  Literature,  II. 
pts.  iv-vi  ;    Bulwer,  Last  Days  of  Pompeii  (a  novel). 


CHAPTER   XI 

THE   LIMITED   MONARCHY 

(96-180  A.D.) 

The  Five  Good  Emperors 

"  If  the  intellectual  ability  of  kings  and  magistrates  were  exerted  to 
the  same  degree  in  peace  as  in  war,  human  affairs  would  be  more 
orderly  and  settled."  —  SALLUST,  Catiline,  2. 

As  soon  as  the  senate  heard  of  the  death  of  Domitian,  it  Nerva 
conferred  the  imperial  powers  upon  Nerva,  one  of  its  mem-   e™peror- 
bers,  a  man  who  was  now  about  sixty-five  years  old,  and 
whose  life  was  without  reproach.     He  in  turn  agreed  to  put 
no  senator  to  death.     By  this  act  and  by  granting  the  sen- 
ate a  due   share   in  the  administration,    he  changed    the 
government   from   a   tyranny,   such   as  it  had    been   under 
Domitian,  to  a  constitutional  monarchy.     To  commemo- 
rate this  event,   the  government  struck  coins  bearing  the 
inscriptions,  libertas  pvblica  —  public  liberty  —  and  roma 
renascens  —  Rome    reborn.     Tacitus,   the    historian,  who 
considered  all   the  earlier    princes    usurpers    and    tyrants,    Tacitus, 
declared  that  Nerva  had  united  two  things  hitherto  incom-    Agricola  3- 
patible,  monarchy  and  liberty. 

For  a  long  time  events  had  been  leading  up  to  this  era  An  era  of 
of  good  feeling.     The  old  nobility,  whose  republican  sym-   g00d  feehng 
pathies  were  confined  to  Rome,  or  at  most  to  Italy,  and    P.  234. 
who  had  considered  the  emperor  a  tyrant,  was  now. nearly 
extinct;  a  new  nobility,  abler  and  broader-minded,  chosen 

243 


244 


L  im ited  Monarchy 


Weakness  of 
Nerva. 


Pliny,  Pane- 
gyric, 6. 


Trajan 
emperor, 
98-117  A.D. 


by  the  emperor,  saw  in  him  a  patron  and  friend.  And 
as  the  imperial  government  had  passed  the  experimental 
stage,  and  had  become  permanent,  the  prince  could  again 
permit  freedom  of  speech;  he  could  even  overlook  the  now 

harmless  declamations  on  the 
virtue  of  Brutus.  Had  it 
not  been  for  Domitian's 
fierce  war  upon  the  senate, 
we  could  have  dated  the  be- 
ginning of  this  era  with  the 
accession  of  Vespasian. 

Nerva  corrected  the  worst 
abuses  of  the  preceding  reign, 
and  put  an  end  to  the  law 
of  treason,  which  Domitian 
had  revived.  He  then  ad- 
vised his  subjects  to  forget 
past  wrongs  in  the  happy 
present.  Like  Titus,  he  was 
too  amiable  to  be  a  just  and 
vigorous  ruler.  Pliny  the 
Younger,  who  lived  at  this 
time,  exclaimed,  "The  em- 
pire is  falling  down  upon  the 
emperor's  head  !  "  When 
Nerva  found  himself  unable 
to  control  the  pretorians, 
he  adopted  as  his  son  and 
successor  the  able  general  Trajan,  then  commander  in 
Upper  Germany. 

Nerva  died  in  the  second  year  of  his  reign,  and  the 
purple  robe  passed  to  his  heir.  Whereas  the  earlier  princes 
had  all  been  Romans  or  Italians,  Trajan  was  the  first  pro- 


Nerva 
in   ims  consular  robe 

(Vatican  Museum,  Rome.) 


Trajan  245 

vincial   emperor.      He   was   from   Spain,   a  country  which 

had  already  furnished  Rome  many  men  of  learning  and  of 

letters.     In  contrast,   too,  with  the  earlier  emperors,  who 

were  uniformly  peaceful,   he  was  ambitious  for  conquest.    101-102, 

In  two  wars  he  subdued  Dacia,  a  great  country  north  of  the    I05-106  A-J)- 

Mommsen, 

Danube,  and  converted  it  into  a  Roman  province  a  thou-  provinCest 
sand  miles  in  circuit.  The  work  of  settlement  and  of  i.  p.  221  ft. 
organization  followed  rapidly  upon  the  conquest.  While 
the  emperor  found  land  here  for  his  veterans,  other  colo- 
nists poured  into  the  province  from  various  parts  of  the 
empire.  Engineers,  architects,  and  workmen  built  roads 
and  fortresses.  Miners  found  iron  and  gold  in  the  Car- 
pathian Mountains.  Merchants  travelled  to  and  from  the 
province  along  the  new  highways.  The  native  population 
either  fled  from  the  country  or  adopted  the  speech  and 
habits  of  the  colonists;  and  though  these  settlers  were  of 
various  nationalities,  the  Latin  language  prevailed,  and 
even  the  Roman  name  has  survived  there  in  the  modern 
Roumania. 

As  a  memorial  of  this  conquest  the  emperor  built  a  Trajan's 
forum  between  the  Capitoline  and  the  Quirinal  on  a  spot 
he  had  levelled  for  the  purpose  by  cutting  away  the  ridge 
which  had  previously  connected  the  two  hills.  The  chief 
adornment  of  the  new  forum  was  a  marble  column  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty-eight  feet  high,  covered  by  a  spiral  band 
which  winds  about  it  from  base  to  summit,  and  which  tells 
in  sculptured  reliefs  the  story  of  the  conquest,  —  marches, 
battles,  sieges,  the  building  of  camps,  the  burning  of 
towns,  the  care  of  wounds,  the  slaughter  of  prisoners,  the  Duruy, 
last  scene  in  the  life  of  the  Dacian  chief  Decebalus,  and   Rome* 

v.  p.  246  ff 

the  presentation  of  his  head   to  the  populace  of   Rome.    (for  niustra- 
Though  Trajan's  own  account  of  the  Dacian  wars  has  been    tlons)- 
lost,  this  "chiselled  picture-book"  gives  us  valuable  knowl- 


Eastern  con- 
quests. 


246 


/.  imited  Monarchy 


edge  not  only  of  the  campaigns  but  of  the  military  habits 
of  the  Romans  and  of  the  Northern  barbarians. 

After  a  few  years  of  quiet  administration  the  emperor 
undertook  the  conquest  of  the  East.     One  of  his  generals 


The  Column  ok  Trajan 


had  already  conquered  Arabia,  and  had  made  a  province  of 
it.  There  was  no  difficulty  in  finding  a  pretext  for  war 
with    Parthia,   the  only  great  power  in  the   East;   for  the 


Administration  247 

Parthian  king  had  placed  a  nephew  on  the  throne  of  Arme- 
nia, which  he  now  looked  upon  as  a  vassal  state.  As  Rome 
had  long  claimed  this  country,  Trajan  took  the  field  in 
person  to  expel  the  intruder.  When  this  easy  task  was 
done,  Armenia  became  a  province.  The  emperor  ought 
then  to  have  organized  and  fortified  it  as  he  had  done  in 
the  case  of  Dacia.  But  neglecting  this  needful  work  and 
foolishly  emulating  Alexander  the  Great,  he  invaded  the 
empire  of  the  Parthians  as  far  as  their  capital,  Ctesiphon, 
a  city  on  the  Tigris  River.  Thence  he  descended  to  the 
Persian  Gulf.  As  he  there  saw  a  ship  bound  for  India,  he 
regretted  that  old  age  prevented  him  from  following  in 
Alexander's  track  to  that  famous,  far-off  land.  Meantime 
the  provinces  he  had  hastily  established  about  the  Tigris 
and  Euphrates  fell  to  pieces,  and  their  population  rose 
against  him.  His  return  march,  in  which  he  pretended  to 
suppress  the  revolt,  was  in  fact  a  disastrous  retreat.  While 
on  his  way  to  Rome  he  fell  sick  in  Cilicia,  and  died  there  h7a.d. 
—  apparently  of  a  fever  and  of  disappointment  at  the  failure 
of  his  hopes. 

We  shall  now  return  to  his  administration.     Following  Trajan's  ad- 
Nerva's  policy,  he  treated  the  senators  as  his  equals.     "We      *nis 

1  J '  l  Epigram, 

no  longer  see  a  master  here,"  Martial  exclaimed,  "but  the  x.  12. 
most  just  of  senators."  As  a  guarantee  of  freedom,  he  had 
them  vote  by  ballot,  instead  of  openly  as  heretofore,  but 
some  of  -them  proved  unworthy  of  the  privilege  by  writing 
coarse  jokes  on  their  ballots  instead  of  the  names  of  candi- 
dates. The  emperor  knew  well  that  such  men  were  inca- 
pable of  ruling,  and  accordingly,  though  they  continued  to 
talk  much,  he  granted  them  less  actual  power  than  they  had 
enjoyed  under  Augustus.  The  consuls,  too,  had  lost  much 
of  their  importance,  as  their  term  had  been  gradually 
reduced  to  two  months.     But  the  republican  institutions   P.  211. 


248  Limited  Monarchy 

p.  238.  suffered  the  severest  loss  from  the  emperor's  exercising  the 

duties  of  the  censor  without  having  formally  received  from 
the  senate  either  the  office  itself  or  the  authority  which 
belonged  to  it.  By  thus  converting  this  main  prop  of  the 
nobility  into  an  imperial  power,  Trajan  advanced  beyond 
his  predecessors  in  the  direction  of  monarchy.     Intelligent 

Letters,™. 20.  men  understood  the  situation.  "It  is  true,"  says  Pliny, 
"that  all  is  done  according  to  the  will  of  one  man,  who, 
for  the  common  interest,  takes  upon  himself  alone  the  cares 
and  the  burdens  of  all."  Men  like  Pliny,  however,  regarded 
Trajan  as  a  parent  rather  than  a  tyrant.  Parental  rule  may 
indeed  be  excellent  while  it  lasts;  but  it  cannot  be  per- 
petual, and  it  renders  those  who  live  under  it  unfit  for 
self-government. 

Italy.  This  growing  power  of  the  emperor  appeared  in  Italy  and 

P.  194.  in  the  provinces  as  well  as  in  Rome.     'When  the  finances 

of  a  municipium  fell  into  disorder,  Trajan  would  send  it  an 
agent  —  curator  rei publico?  —  to  control  its  accounts.  Such 
an  imperial  officer  gradually  usurped  authority  until,  after  a 
century  or  two,  he  deprived  the  community  of  self-govern- 
ment.    In  Trajan's  time,  however,  the  institution  was  only 

P.  134  f.  helpful.     Italy  had  never  prospered  under  Roman  rule;  the 

burdens  of  war  and  the  competition  of  slave  labor  in  the 
provinces  had  wasted  the  life  of  the  Italians,  and  had 
reduced  the  remnant  of  their  race  to  beggary.  To  recruit 
the  population,- Trajan  founded  colonies  in  Italy,  and  better 
still,  he  lent  the  municipia  considerable  money  which  they 
were   to  invest  on   the  security  of   land,  that  they  might 

Pp.  335,  337.  have  the  interest  to  use  for  the  maintenance  of  poor  chil- 
dren. At  one  date  in  his  reign  we  find  the  municipia  pro- 
viding thus  for  five  thousand  children.  Pliny  tells  us  the 
object  of  this  institution:  "These  children  are  reared  at 
the  expense  of  the  state,  to  be   its  supporters  in  war,  its 


Municipia  and  Provinces  249 

ornament  in  peace.  Some  day  they  will  fill  our  camps  and  Panegyric, 
our  tribes;  and  from  them  will  arise  sons  who  will  no 
longer  need  assistance."  The  example  set  by  the  emperor 
found  many  followers  both  in  Italy  and  in  the  provinces. 
Though  the  avowed  object  was  to  increase  the  strength  of 
the  armies,  the  institution  was  humane;  we  see  in  it  a  sign 
of  the  moral  improvement  of  mankind. 

One  of  the  most  important  acts  of  Trajan's  reign  was  the   Themuni- 

,  .    ,  .        .  ...  , .,  cipia. 

senatorial  decree  which  permitted  a  municipium,  like  a 
person,  to  receive  bequests.  In  consequence,  wealthy  men 
over  all  the  empire  began  to  will  property  to  their  towns  to 
be  used  for  public  works.  Accordingly  in  every  part  of 
what  was  once  the  Roman  world  the  traveller  now  finds  the 
ruins  of  bridges,  aqueducts,  and  other  buildings,  which  date 
from  this  prosperous  era.  Although  the  emperor  aided 
such  works,  the  provinces,  the  towns,  and  private  persons 
furnished  the  greater  share  of  the  cost. 

As  the  emperor  placed  his  agents  in  municipia,  wherever  The  prov- 
and  whenever  he  saw  fit,  a  governor  interfered  at  pleasure 
in  the  administration  of  the  towns  of  his  province.  In 
special  cases  he  referred  everything  to  the  prince.  For 
instance,  Pliny,  when  ruler  of  Bithynia,  a  province  which 
had  fallen  into  disorder,  consulted  Trajan  on  such  trivial 
matters  as  the  building  of  a  public  bath,  the  removal  of 
a  tomb,  and  the  repair  of  a  sewer.  The  interest  of  the 
emperor  and  the  governor  in  the  welfare  of  the  towns  is 
praiseworthy;  but  this  minute  interference  was  to  end  long 
afterward  in  the  destruction  of  municipal  freedom,  the  life 
of  ancient  society. 

Trajan's  administration  was  energetic,  just,  and  humane.    Summary  of 

•   1  -ii  1  i    j    administra- 

He    had   the   strength  to  punish  evil-doers;    he  repealed   tion 
oppressive    taxes;   and   costly    as  were    his  wars   and    his 
buildings,  he  laid  no  new  burdens  on  his  people.     In  his 


250 


L  im itcd  Monarchy 


Hadrian 
emperor, 
1 17-138  A.D. 


His  new  for- 
eign policy. 

Gibbon,  De- 
cline and 
Fall  of  the 
Roman  Um- 
pire, i.  p.  9. 


personal  expenses  he  practised  the  strictest  economy,  and 
his  wife  Plotina  was  as  frugal  and  as  thrifty  as  he.     Like 

Livia,  she  was  the 
emperor's  able 
helper,  and  when 
he  died,  her  tact 
brought  to  the 
throne  the  man  who 
had  stood  highest 
in  her  husband's 
favor. 

The  heir  was 
Hadrian,  a  kins- 
man of  the  late 
emperor  both  by 
birth  and  by  mar- 
riage. He  was  al- 
ready well  known 
as  an  able  general 
and  provincial  gov- 
ernor, thoroughly 
experienced  in 
military  and  ad- 
ministrative affairs.  In  addition  to  these  talents  he  had 
a  broad  education,  a  scholar's  tastes,  and  a  restless  desire 
to  be  always  seeing,  learning,  and  working. 

Of  his  twenty-one  years  of  rule — 117-138  a.d. — he 
spent  thirteen  or  fourteen  in  travelling  through  the  prov- 
inces. "  Careless  of  the  difference  of  seasons  and  of  cli- 
mates, he  marched  on  foot  and  bareheaded,  over  the 
snows  of  Caledonia  and  the  sultry  plains  of  Upper  Egypt; 
nor  was  there  a  province  which,  in  the  course  of  his  reign, 
was  not  honored  by  the  presence  of  the  monarch."     One 


Plotina,  Wife  of  Trajan 

(Vatican  Museum,  Rome.) 


Hadrian  251 

object  of  these  journeys  was  diplomatic.  Hitherto  Rome 
had  generally  considered  foreign  nations  enemies,  and  had 
encouraged  them  to  exterminate  one  another  for  her  own 
advantage.  Though  Augustus  had  begun  a  better  policy, 
Hadrian  was  the  first  who  labored  systematically  to  make 
the  border  races  allies.  These  friendly  neighbors,  little 
less  civilized  than  the  provincials,  were  to  surround  the 
empire,  like  an  outer  bulwark,  against  the  formidable  bar- 
barians beyond.  To  maintain  peace  without  increasing 
the  army,  he  found  it  necessary  to  abandon  all  his  prede- 
cessor's  conquests  excepting  Dacia  and  Arabia. 

Another  object  of  his  travels  was  to  improve  the  armies  His  military 
and  to  strengthen  the  frontier  defences.  He  banished 
playhouses  and  other  demoralizing  pleasures  from  the 
camps;  he  dismissed  "beardless  tribunes,"  who  had 
received  appointments  through  favoritism;  and  in  his 
own  words,  he  restored  "the  discipline  of  Augustus." 
For  the  legion  he  substituted  a  new  and  improved  form 
of  the  phalanx;  he  introduced  heavy-armed  cavalry,  and  P.  46. 
advised  his  officers  to  study  carefully  the  military  systems 
of  various  foreign  states,  with  a  view  to  adopting  from 
them  whatever  might  be  found  useful.  Under  him  the 
armies  were  so  well  exercised  and  trained  that  they  could 
perform  wonderful  labors  in  marching  and  in  building. 
Among  his  frontier  defences  the  best  known  is  the  so-called 
Wall  of  Hadrian,  which  extends  across  northern  Britain 
from  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tyne  to  Solway  Firth.  Origi- 
nally it  consisted  of  two  parallel  moats  and  walls  strength- 
ened by  a  series  of  turrets,  castles,  and  camps.  Equally 
important  was  his  completion  of  the  defences  between  the  p.  238. 
Rhine  and  the  Danube.  By  such  fortifications  as  well  as 
by  his  military  reforms,  he  gave  the  empire  new  strength 
for  resisting  the  assaults  of  the  barbarians. 


252 


Limited  Monarchy 


Public  works. 

Botsford, 
Greece,  p.  73. 


Increasing 
importance  of 
the  provinces. 


Civil  service. 


P.  1  o- 


Besides  these  military  improvements,  he  built  temples, 
theatres,  and  aqueducts  in  every  part  of  the  empire.  At 
Athens  he  completed  the  Olympieum,  a  great  temple  begun 
by  Pisistratus  more  than  six  hundred  years  before  him. 
He  was  fond  of  Athens,  and  encouraged  her  professors 
of  rhetoric  and  philosophy  by  large  bounties,  by  regular 
salaries,  or  by  appointments  to  office. 

A  tendency  of  his  travels  through  the  empire  and  of  his 
administration  in  general  was  to  increase  the  importance 
of  the  provinces  and  to  diminish  that  of  the  capital.  His 
division  of  Italy  into  four  districts,  each  under  a  judge,1 
was  the  first  distinct  step  toward  making  it  a  province  and 
Rome  a  municipium.  A  corresponding  change  was  taking 
place  in  the  position  of  the  senate.  Deprived  of  most  of 
the  authority  Augustus  had  left  it  in  the  provinces  and  in 
Italy  itself,  it  gradually  came  to  be  a  mere  city  council. 

The  amount  of  administrative  business  in  the  hands  of 
the  prince  had  greatly  increased  since  Augustus.  Before 
Hadrian  the  members  of  the  emperor's  household  and  a 
few  knights  had  helped  in  this  work.  To  him,  however, 
is  chiefly  due  the  creation  of  a  civil  service,  — a  complex 
system  of  offices,  with  special  functions  for  each,  and  with 
regular  promotions  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest.2  It 
was  a  further  misfortune  for  the  senate  that  the  knights 
alone  were  employed  in  these  duties.  The  emperor  needed 
especially  a  great  number  of  revenue  officials,  for  he  had 
abolished  the  farming  of  taxes  and  had  undertaken  to  col- 
lect  them   directly.      Preparatory   to   a   vigorous   financial 


1  These  judges  —  indices  —  were  withdrawn  by  Antoninus  Pius,  but 
reestablished  by  Marcus  Aurelius  under  the  name  of  iuridici. 

-  Must  of  these  officials  were  prefects  and  procurators.  They  were 
wholly  distinct  in  nature  from  the  old  magistracies,  —  consulships,  prse- 
torships,  etc.,  which  continued  as  before. 


Privy  Council 


253 


council. 


administration,  he  remitted  all  taxes  due  on  his  accession 
and  burned  the  accounts  in  Trajan's  Forum. 

The  highest  place  in  the  purely  civil  service  was  that  of    The  privy 
imperial  treasurer.     More  important  still,  and  second  only 
to  the  emperor,  was  the  pretorian  prefect,  —  now  usually 
a  jurist, — whose  duties  henceforth  were   judicial  as  well 
as  military.     The  emperor,  who  had  great  respect  for  the 


The  Mausoleum  of  Hadrian 

(The  Tiber  in  the  foreground.) 


jurists,  made  up  his  privy  council  of  men  of  this  class, 
some  of  whom  were  senators,  others  knights.  Such  a  body 
of  advisers  had  existed  informally  from  the  time  of  Augus- 
tus, but  Hadrian  made  it  a  recognized  imperial  institution. 

By  his  thorough  reforms  he  put  the  machinery  of  govern-    summary  ci 
ment,  as  well  as  the  military  system,  in  such  order  that  it 
continued  to  run  with  little  repair  for  more  than  a  hundred 


reforms. 


254 


Limited  Monarchy 


Antoninus 

Pius, 

emperor, 

138-161  A.n. 


P.  248. 


Marcus 

Aurelius 

Antoninus, 

emperor, 

161-180. 


Marcus 

Aurelius, 
Meditations. 


years.  Underlying  all  his  work  we  find  this  principle,  — 
the  armies,  the  governors,  Rome,  and  the  emperor  existed 
for  the  welfare  of  the  provinces.  As  he  was  the  first  real 
monarch,  he  was  likewise  the  first  servant  of  the  empire. 

Antoninus,  surnamed  Pius,1  the  heir  of  Hadrian,  was  the 
first  emperor  from  Gaul.  He  was  a  man  of  estimable  char- 
acter who  loved  justice  and  peace.  His  reign  is  noted  for 
humane  legislation.  Especially  he  limited  the  right  of  the 
master  to  torture  his  slaves  for  the  purpose  of  extorting  evi- 
dence;'2 and  he  originated  the  legal  principle  on  which  all 
trials  are  now  conducted  throughout  the  civilized  world, 
that  an  accused  person  should  be  considered  innocent  till 
proved  guilty.  Enlarging  on  the  charitable  policy  of  Tra- 
jan, he  set  aside  an  endowment  for  orphan  girls,  whom 
he  called  Faustinianse,  after  his  wife  Faustina.  His  long 
reign,  unmarked  by  events,  was  prosperous  and  happy, 
not  from  his  own  ability,  however,  so  much  as  from  the 
excellent  condition  in  which  his  predecessor  had  left  the 
empire. 

When  he  died  the  imperial  powers  passed  to  Marcus 
Aurelius,  his  adopted  son,  a  native  of  Spain.  This  emperor 
associated  with  himself  as  colleague  Lucius  Verus,  his 
brother  by  adoption;  so  that  Rome  was  ruled  for  a  time 
by  two  Augusti.  Verus  sought  only  pleasure;  Aurelius  was 
a  Stoic  philosopher,  whose  chief  aim  was  to  do  his  duty 
toward  his  fellow-men.  But  he  had  little  time  to  give  to 
books  and  meditation;  for  the  easy  disposition  of  his  pred- 
ecessor had  left  him  a  great  legacy  of  troubles.  On  his 
accession,  he  found  war  brewing  along  the  northern  and 
eastern    frontiers.      The    troops  of   Syria   had  grown   too 


1  Either  from  his  reverence  for  his  adoptive  father  Hadrian,  or  from 
his  courteous  treatment  of  the  senate. 

2  Hadrian  had  already  restricted  this  custom  to  some  extent. 


Marcus  Aurelius  255 

effeminate  to  resist  the  invading  Parthians;  but  fortunately   War  with 

Parthia, 
162-166  A.D. 


there  were  good  generals  in  the  East,  the  ablest  of  whom 


was  Avidius  Cassius.  A  Syrian  by  birth,  but  of  the  old 
Roman  type  of  severity,  he  put  the  licentious  troops  on 
coarse  rations,  burned  the  disobedient,  and  restored  disci- 
pline. He  defeated  the  Parthians,  overran  their  country, 
and  compelled  them  to  sue  for  peace.  Rome  retained  a  166  a.d. 
part  of  Mesopotamia. 

Meantime  a  fearful  pestilence  was  raging  in  the  East;  Pestilence, 
and  as  the  troops  returned  from  the  war,  they  spread  the 
disease  over  the  eastern  half  of  the  empire  and  over  Italy 
itself.  It  weakened  the  army;  in  some  places,  as  in  Italy, 
it  carried  off  perhaps  half  the  population;  and  the  efforts 
to  relieve  it  so  drained  the  treasury  that  the  prince  lacked 
funds  for  the  defence  of  the  empire.  The  enemies  of  The  northern 
Rome  were  growing  formidable.  All  Europe  beyond  the 
frontier  was  full  of  restless  tribes,  which  threatened  the 
civilized  countries  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  Parthian 
war  was  scarcely  done  when  they  broke  into  the  empire  in 
a  continuous  line  from  northern  Italy  to  the  farthest  limits 
of  Dacia.  The  leaders  were  the  Marcomanni,  a  powerful 
Teutonic  nation  who  lived  in  what  is  now  Bohemia,  and 
who  gave  their  name  to  the  war. 

Aurelius  sold  the  crown  jewels  to  provide  means  for  the   First  Marco- 

,  ,  .    ,   ,  -ii  mannic  War. 

war;  and  for  want  of  better  material  he  recruited  the  army    l67_I7S  AD-' 
with  slaves  and  gladiators.     Both  emperors  took  the  field, 
and  when  Verus  died  in  the  following  year,  Aurelius  con- 
tinued the  war  alone.     After  seven  years  of  hard  fighting 
he  won  an  honorable  peace,  which,  however,  was  broken 
while  he  was  engaged  in  putting  down  a  revolt  of  Avidius   Second 
Cassius  in  the  East.      As  soon  as  he  had  finished  this  work,    War>     8_l8o 
he  returned  to  the  Danube,  and  conquered  both  the  Mar-   a.d. 
comanni   and   the    Iazyges,  a   Slavic   tribe  on  the  west  of 


256 


Limited  Monarchy 


Administra- 
tion of 
Aurelius. 


P.  264. 


The  limited 
monarchy. 

Pp.  218,  220, 
227,  234,  238, 
243- 


The  litera- 
ture of  the 
period. 


Tacitus, 
55-120  A.D. 


P.  293  ff. 


Dacia.  He  was  about  to  make  their  countries  into 
provinces  when  death  cut  short  his  work. 

In  his  administration  he  followed  the  lines  marked  out 
by  his  predecessors,  yet  with  a  disposition  to  waste  the 
revenues  in  gifts  to  the  populace  and  to  the  soldiers.  His 
treatment  of  the  Christians  we  shall  consider  in  another 
connection,  and  shall  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  intel- 
lectual, moral,  and  religious  condition  of  the  age. 

The  long  struggle  between  the  prince  and  the  senate 
which  began  in  the  later  years  of  Augustus  came  to  an  end 
with  the  death  of  Domitian.  The  prince  triumphed;  the 
nobles  recognized  the  monarchy  as  a  necessary  evil;  on 
this  understanding  the  "good  emperors  "  gave  them  liberty, 
and  their  organ,  the  senate,  a  certain  degree  of  political 
influence.  Thus  the  dyarchy  developed  into  a  limited 
monarchy. 

This  political  change  affected  literature;  the  sufferings 
of  republicanism  under  Domitian,  followed  by  the  happy 
reigns  of  Nerva  and  Trajan,  produced  the  last  great  writers 
of  classic  Latin,  Tacitus  and  Juvenal.  One  wrote  history, 
the  other  satire,  yet  with  a  kindred  spirit.  The  Annals 
and  the  Histories 1  of  Tacitus  cover  the  period  from  the 
death  of  Augustus  to  the  death  of  Domitian.  Besides  these 
larger  works  he  wrote  a  monograph  on  the  Life  and  Char- 
acter of  Agricola,  the  conqueror  of  Britain,  and  another, 
the  Germania,  on  the  character  and  institutions  of  the 
Germans  of  his  time.  His  experience  as  an  army  officer 
and  a  statesman  gave  him  a  clear  understanding  of  mili- 
tary and  political  events.  He  was  conscientious,  too,  and 
though  he  made  little  use  of  documents  as  sources,  we  may 


1  ( )f  the  Annals  we  have  bks.  I-IV,  parts  of  V  and  VI,  and  XI- 
XVI,  with  gaps  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  this  last  group  of  books; 
of  the  Histories  there  remain  bks.  I-IV  and  the  first  half  of  V. 


Literature  257 

trust  his  statement  of  all  facts  which  were  known  to  the 
public.  His  style  is  exceedingly  rapid,  vivid,  and  ener- 
getic. His  excellences  as  an  historian,  however,  are  bal- 
anced by  serious  defects.  Though  he  owed  his  seat  in  the 
senate  to  Domitian,  he  belonged  to  the  strictest  circle  of 
aristocrats,  who  were  out  of  joint  with  the  times  and 
blocked  the  way  of  progress.  Hatred  of  the  "tyrants" 
from  Tiberius  to  Domitian,  and  the  bitterness  he  felt 
because  of  his  party's  failure,  supplied  him  with  inspira- 
tion for  his  gloomy  narrative.  He  wrote  in  the  reign  of 
Trajan,  when  the  empire  was  at  the  height  of  prosperity, 
the  happiest  age  in  ancient  history;  and  yet  he  utterly 
ignored  the  blessings  the  imperial  government  had  brought 
the  provinces.  Rome  was  everything  to  him;  and  within 
this  little  world,  the  aristocrats  alone  were  worthy  of  his 
sympathy.  We  should  not  look  for  fairness  in  so  narrow  a 
mind.  To  most  critics  his  chief  merit  lies  in  his  dramatic 
portrayal  of  character;  but  his  prejudice  led  him  uncon- 
sciously to  invent  bad  motives  even  for  the  best  acts  of  the 
emperors,  especially  of  Tiberius.  His  characters,  however 
vivid  and  self-consistent,  are  the  product  of  his  gloomy, 
bitter  imagination.  *  Valuable  as  his  work  is  to  one  who 
can  distinguish  between  fact  and  fancy,  it  is  as  much  satire 
as  history.  . 

Like  the  historian,  Juvenal,  author  of  Satires,  was  power-  juvenai. 
ful  and  dramatic.  With  the  inspiration  of  wrath  and  in 
the  spirit  of  Tacitus,  he  looked  back  to  the  society  of 
Rome  under  Nero  and  Domitian  to  find  in  it  nothing  but 
hideous  vice.  The  pictures  drawn  by  the  historian  are 
indeed  grand  and  fascinating;  those  of  the  satirist  repel 
us  by  their  ugliness;  the  works  of  both  masters  are  unreal. 

When  Rome  renounced  the  republic,  so  far  as  to  con-    Decline  of 
sider  her  emperors  good,  she  lost  her  motive  for  literary   llterature- 


258 


L  im  ited  Monarchy 


Pliny  the 
Younger. 


Suetonius. 


Jurispru 
dence. 


art.  Her  writers  became  shallow  and  insipid,  without 
thought  or  imagination,  who  could  only  repeat  and  spoil 
what  they  had  read.  At  the  head  of  this  class  we  may 
place  Pliny  the  Younger,  an  orator,  and  for  a  time  gov- 
ernor of  Bithynia.  One  of  his  speeches,  a  eulogy  on 
Trajan,  which  has  come  down  to  us,  is  an  example  of  the 
tiresome,  feeble  style  of  the  day.  His  Letters,  polished 
yet  trivial,  are  valuable  for  the  study  of  the  times.  Less 
praise  belongs  to  Suetonius,  Hadrian's  secretary,  whose 
Lives  of  the  Ctzsars  from  Julius  to  Domitian  is  a  chaotic 
mixture  of  useful  facts  and  foolish  gossip. 

This  decline  in  Latin  literature  by  no  means  signifies 
a  loss  of  intellectual  power.  Rather,  forsaking  an  art  in 
which  their  nation  had  always  been  inferior  to  Greece, 
men  of  ability  now  preferred  administrative  work;  or  they 
devoted  themselves  to  jurisprudence,  for  which  the  Romans 
possessed  real  genius.  The  jurists  had  become  the  chief 
legislators,  whose  views  found  expression  in  the  decrees 
and  judgments  of  the  emperor.  In  Hadrian's  reign,  Sal- 
vius  Julianus,  one  of  their  number,  collected  and  systema- 
tized the  edicts  of  all  past  prretors  in  a  code  which,  under 
the  title  Perpetual  Edict,  had  henceforth  the  authority  of 
law,  subject  to  modification  by  the  emperor  alone.  Juli- 
anus was  the  first  of  those  eminent  jurists  who  labored  to 
perfect  the  Civil  Law,  which  to  this  day  remains  the  basis 
of  most  European  codes. 

The  tendency  of  legislation  in  this  age,  as.  has  already 
been  noticed,  was  to  improve  the  condition  of  slaves,  and 
Pp.  248,  254.  of  women  and  children,  and  to  equalize  the  rights  of  free- 
men. Connected  with  this  advancement  was  the  process 
of  Romanizing  the  provinces  which  was  going  on  rapidly 
in  all  the  empire  west  of  Greece.  First  Cisalpine  Gaul 
had  adopted  the  Latin  language  and  civilization,  then  most 


Salvius 

Julianus 


Romanizing 
the  West. 


Civilization 


259 


of  Transalpine  Gaul  and  Spain.  These  countries  became  Pp.  186,  241, 
so  thoroughly  Roman  that  with  their  fresh  life  and  excellent  245,  254- 
education  they  gave  Rome  eminent  poets,  scholars,  and 
even  emperors.  The  same  was  coming  to  be  true  of  Africa. 
Roman  civilization  gained  a  foothold,  too,  in  Britain  and 
prevailed  in  Dacia.  Along  with  the  progress  of  culture, 
individuals  and  entire  communities  continued  to  receive 


A  Roman  Bridge 

(Toledo,  Spain.) 


either  the.  full  Roman  citizenship  or  the  slightly  inferior 
Latin  rights.  This  change  greatly  improved  the  condition 
of  the  provincials,  for  the  citizen  commanded  respect,  and 
in  case  of  a  capital  charge  against  him,  he  could  appeal  to 
the  emperor. 

The  task  of  giving  the  East  one  civilization  had  already    Hellenic  cui- 
been  accomplished  by  the  Greeks.     From  old  Hellas  to    East 
India  theirs  was  the  language  of  learning,  of  commerce, 


26o 


L  im  itcd  Moiuv  rJiy 


p.  336. 

Hellenic  lit- 
erature. 

Appian. 
About  90-100 
A.D.     • 

160  A.  I ). 

Arrian. 


Pausanias. 
Plutarch, 

46-120  A.D. 

Murray, 
Ancient 

Greek 

Literature, 

P-  395  f- 
Lucian. 


1473   '543 

A.D. 


The  Gra^co- 

Roman 

world. 


and  of  diplomacy;  in  the  Eastern  provinces  Greek  as  well 
as  Latin  was  official.  Their  race  supplied  Rome  with 
schoolmasters,  business  men,  architects,  and  artists. 
Athens  and  Rhodes  were  the  centres  of  learning,  —  the 
great  university  towns,  so  to  speak,  to  which  Rome  sent 
her  sons. 

A  revival  of  Hellenic  literature  in  this  age  produced 
some  authors  of  unusual  merit.  Appian  of  Alexandria 
wrote  a  narrative  History  of  Rome.  It  is  true  that  he  was 
uncritical,  yet  this  may  be  said  of  nearly  every  ancient 
historian.  Large  parts  of  his  work  have  come  down  to 
us,  and  are  valuable.  The  writings  of  Arrian,  a  contem- 
porary, included  the  Anabasis  of  Alexander,  practically  a 
biography  of  the  great  conqueror,  patterned  after  the  like- 
named  work  of  Xenophon.  In  this  age,  too,  Pausanias 
compiled  his  Tour  of  Greece,  which  describes  the  classic 
monuments  of  that  country.  "  Above  all,  Plutarch  wrote 
his  immortal  Lives,  perhaps  the  most  widely  and  per- 
manently attractive  work  by  one  author  known  to  the 
world."  Another  original  genius,  Lucian,  in  bright 
Dialogues,  satirized  philosophy,  religion,  and  society. 
His  work  will  always  be  interesting.  While  the  Greeks 
were  producing  literature,  they  did  not  neglect  science. 
Galen,  the  physician  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  wrote  many  works 
on  anatomy  and  medicine.  Ptolemy  published  a  system 
of  astronomy,  in  which  he  represented  the  earth  as  the 
centre  of  the  universe.  His  views  were  accepted  for  more 
than  a  thousand  years,  till  they  were  superseded  by  those 
of  Copernicus. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  while  Rome  was  civilizing 
the  West  she  was  falling  more  and  more  under  the  influ- 
ence of  Greece.  Whereas  Augustus  and  Tiberius  had  been 
thoroughly  Roman  in  chaiacter,  the  emperors  from  Clau- 


The  Grceco-Rovimi   World 


261 


dius  to  Aurelius  were  controlled  by  Hellenic  ideas.  In 
fact  the  empire  was  a  Gneco-Roman  world,  in  which  the 
Greek  continued  to  be  a  powerful  humanizing  force.  Under 
the  Antonines  the  empire  was  at   its  best.     Agriculture, 


"•Marcus  Aurelius  in  his  Triumphal  Cai 

(Palace  of  the  Conservatori,   Rome.) 


commerce,  and  the  arts  flourished  through  the  entire  cir- 
cuit of  the  Mediterranean.  Wealth  abounded  and  many 
people  were  happy.  Grseco-Roman  government  and  law, 
industry,  manners,  ideas,  and  religion,  under  the  peace  of 
Rome,  produced  this  universal  prosperity.     But  the  height 


262 


Limited  Monarchy 


From  ancient 
to  mediaeval 
life. 

The  Ger- 
manic race. 


Pelham, 
Imperial  Do- 
mains and 
the  Colonate. 


Christianity. 
P.  256. 


of  development  is  the  beginning  of  decline.  It  was  not 
till  after  Marcus  Aurelius,  however,  that  the  empire  showed 
unmistakable  signs  of  decay  in  the  wearing  out  of  old 
institutions  and  in  the  exhaustion  of  strength.  Meanwhile 
fresh  forces  and  vital  ideas,  already  setting  in,  were  to 
transform  the  old  world   into  the  new. 

One  of  the  two  chief  forces  to  bring  about  this  great 
change  was  the  Germanic  race,  to  which  belonged  the 
Marcomanni.  In  the  course  of  his  wars  Aurelius  enlisted 
many  of  these  barbarians  in  his  army  and  settled  many  in 
the  provinces  and  in  northern  Italy.  This  process,  carried 
on  by  his  successors,  did  much  to  destroy  the  Graeco- 
Roman  character  of  the  empire  and  to  make  it  Germanic. 
At  the  same  time  it  had  an  important  social  result.  Such 
colonists,  —  coloni, — though  personally  free  and  liable  to 
military  service,  were  bound  to  the  soil,  which  they  had  to 
till  but  could  not  own.  Many  peasants,  too,  whom  poverty 
reduced  to  a  similar  state,  were  likewise  called  coloni, 
which  thus  came  to  mean  "serfs."  This  new  form  of 
tenantage  probably  began  on  the  emperor's  estates,  whence 
it  extended  to  the  lands  of  private  persons.  Gradually  a 
considerable  part  of  the  free  rural  population  fell  into  serf- 
dom, and  meantime  numbers  of  slaves  were  elevated  to  the 
same  condition.  This  social  class  was  to  be  an  important 
element  of  mediaeval  life. 

The  second  force  which  tended  to  revolutionize  the 
world  lay  in  Christianity.  For  the  multitude  of  Graeco- 
Roman  gods  it  substituted  Our  Father  in  Heaven;  for 
bloody  sacrifices,  pure  worship;  for  learning,  love;  for 
law,  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  This  religion  arose  in 
Judea,  but  St.  Peter  carried  it  early  to  the  "Gentiles,"  and 
St.  Paul  preached  it  even  in  Rome.  Everywhere  the  lower 
classes  eagerly  accepted  a  faith  which  esteemed  the  slave 


The  Christians  263 

equal  to  the  emperor.  Under  this  dispensation  the  hum- 
blest on  earth  were  the  greatest  saints,  and  all  who  shared 
in  it  enjoyed  the  comforting  hope  of  eternal  happiness. 

During    the   first  century   of    our   era,    the   followers  of   Persecution 
Christ  attracted  little   attention.1      The   learned  and  the   °ia^!e 
powerful  alike  considered  them  unworthy  of  notice,  and  the 
government,  which  protected   the   public   worship   of  all 
the  races  within  the  empire,  included  the  Christians  with 
the  Jews.      Discovering,  however,  that  the  Christians  were 
a    distinct    sect,    the    Romans    came    gradually   to    regard 
them  as  a    menace    to    existing    society  and  government. 
Unlike  the  Romans,  the  Christians  were  intolerant  of  all 
other  religions  and  exceedingly  aggressive  in  making  new 
converts.      To   keep   themselves    free    from   idolatry  they 
refused  to  associate  with  others  in  social  and  public  fes- 
tivities, an  attitude  which  won  for  them  the  evil  name  of   Tacitus, 
"haters  of  mankind."    In  like  manner  their  refusal  to  wor- 

XV.  44. 

ship  the  Gemus,  or  guardian  spirit,  of  the  emperor  was 
naturally  construed  as  impiety  and  treason.  The  govern- 
ment, always  suspicious  of  secret  meetings,  could  see  noth- 
ing but  danger  in  those  of  the  Christians,  whose  church 
was,  in  fact,  a  great  secret  society  with  branches  in  every 
city  and  town.  A  class  of  people,  too,  who  objected  to 
military  service  seemed  useless  to  the  State.  These  were 
the  chief  reasons  why  they  were  persecuted.  Their  hostility 
to  the  old-world  religion,  so  intimately  connected  with 
the  well-being  of  the  empire,  was  in  fact  a  merit.  In 
defending  their  general  character,  however,  we  must  not 
assume  that  they  were  ideal  beings.  Many  of  them,  when 
accused,  obstinately  defied  the  authorities  and  courted  P.  231. 
martyrdom.      Such    unwise    conduct    widened    the    chasm 

1  The  persecution  under  Nero  was  exceptional;    cf.  p.  231. 


264 


A  i  mi  ted  Monarchy 


The  Chris- 
tians under 
Trajan, 
Hadrian,  and 
Antoninus 
Pius. 


The  Chris- 
tians under 
Marcus 
Aurelius. 


177  A.I'. 

Lettei  "I  .i 
Christian 
from  Lyons, 

iiius, 
/      lesiastical 
History, #1.33. 


between  the  civil  power  and  the  new  Church.  The  leaders, 
too,  by  wrangling  over  minute  points  of  doctrine,  added 
further  disrepute  to  their  cause. 

The  civil  authorities  throughout  the  empire  proceeded, 
accordingly,  to  punish  the  Christians  for  real  or  imaginary 
offences  against  law  and  order.  We  find  Trajan,  how- 
ever, instructing  Pliny,  governor  of  Bithynia,  not  to  hunt 
them  down  or  to  receive  anonymous  charges  against  them, 
but  to  condemn  those  only  who  were  openly  known  as 
Christians.  Milder  treatment  no  one  could  expect.  Ha- 
drian discouraged  persecution,  and  made  informers  respon- 
sible for  any  outbreaks  their  accusations  might  cause.  His 
successor,  the  gentle  Antoninus  Pius,  though  a  restorer  of 
the  ancient  religion,  himself  persecuted  no  one.  Never- 
theless in  his  reign  popular  hatred  forced  the  magistrates  in 
some  of  the  cities  to  torture  and  kill  prominent  Christians. 

Under  Marcus  Aurelius  a  change  came  for  the  worse. 
As  popular  dislike  of  the  Christians  excited  tumults  in 
many  cities,  he  ordered  those  who  confessed  the  faith  to 
be  beaten  to  death.  This  measure  he  regarded  as  neces- 
sary to  the  peace  of  the  empire;  otherwise  he  paid  the 
Christians  little  attention.  Their  trouble  came  chiefly 
from  the  people,  who  regarded  them  with  superstitious  ha- 
tred. Pestilence,  famine,  and  other  calamities  demanded 
victims;  and  accordingly  the  mob  raged  at  the  Christians. 
Riots  broke  out  against  them  in  Lyons.  Here  as  else- 
where their  enemies  asserted,  on  mere  rumor,  that  in  their 
religious  meetings  they  were  guilty  of  gross  immorality 
and  feasted  on  children!  One  of  the  new  faith  writes, 
"  Firsl  we  were  driven  away  from  the  baths,  buildings, 
and  all  places  open  to  the  public;  then  we  had  to  suffer 
the  insults,  blows,  and  violent  acts  of  an  infuriated  mul- 
titude."    Holding  the  Christians  responsible  for  the  dis- 


Persecutions 


265 


turbance,  the  authorities  began  to  torture  them  and  to 
throw  them  to  the  beasts  in  the  amphitheatre  for  the 
amusement  of  the  spectators.  By  this  means  many  per- 
ished. One  of  the  number,  Blandina,  a  slave,  who  took 
the  part  of  mother  to  her  fellow-sufferers,  is  now  revered 
in  Lyons  as  a  saint.     In  other  places  similar  scenes  were 


Roman  Baths 

(Nimes,  France.) 


enacted.  *So  far  from  helping  the  empire,  however,  or  its 
decaying  gods,  persecution  strengthened  the  new  faith  and 
made  it  more  aggressive. 


Sources 

For  this  and  the  remaining  chapters  fewer  sources  are  accessible    Reading, 
to  the  English  reader.      Dio  Cassius  lxviii-lxxi  (German  translation)  ; 
Historia  Augusta  by  various  writers  (lives  of  the  emperors  beginning 
with  Hadrian  ;   valuable  ;    easily  read  in  the  original)  ;    Pliny,  Letters 


266  Limited  Monarchy 

(for  social  and  intellectual  life,  and  for  provincial  administration)  ; 
Marcus  Aurelius,  Meditations ;  Eusebius,  Ecclesiastical  History,  i-v. 
Cf.  Botsford,  Story  of  Rome,  ch.  xi  ;  Fling,  Studies  in  European  His- 
tory, i.  pp.  126-144  (selections  from  Pliny's  Letters)  ;  Translations  and 
Reprints  front  the  Original  Sources  of  European  History  (University 
of  Pennsylvania),  IV.  i:  Early  Christian  Persecutions.  For  the  con- 
temporary writers  of  this  age,  see  p.  221  ff. 

Modern  "Works 

Gibbon,  Decline  and  Eall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  chs.  i-iii  ;  Duruy, 
History  of  Rome  (V,  VI),  chs.  lxxix-lxxxvii  ;  Merivale,  History  of  the 
Romans,  VII.  chs.  lxiii-lxviii  ;  Bury,  Student's  Roman  Empire,  chs. 
xxiii-xxxi  ;  Capes,  Age  of  the  Autoniues  (epochs)  ;  Finlay,  Htltory  of 
Greece,  I.  ch.  i  ;  Mahaffy,  Greek  World  under  Roman  Sway,  chs.  xiii, 
\iv  ;  Gregorovius,  Emperor  Hadrian ;  Bryant,  Reign  of  Antoninus 
J'ius;  Myers,  Classical  Essays  :  Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus  ;  Watson, 
Marcus  .  lurelius  Antoninus  :  Arnold,  Roman  Provincial  Administra- 
tion, p.  140  ff.  ;  Mommsen,  Provinces  of  the  Ron/an  Empire  (consult 
Index)  ;  Pelham,  Imperial  Domains;  Boissier,  Roman  Africa,  chs. 
iii-vii;  Allen,  Christian  History,  first  period,  ch.  iv;  Fisher,  Beginnings 
of  Christianity  :  History  of  the  Christian  Church  :  Hardy,  Christianity 
ami  the  Roman  Government ;  Hatch,  Organization  of  the  Early  Chris- 
tian Churches;  Kurtz,  Church  History,  i;  Moeller,  History  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  i;  Ramsay,  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire  before  A.D. 
j  jo  ;  Lecky,  History  of  European  Morals,  chs.  ii,  iii;  Mackail,  Latin 
Literature,  bk.  HI  ;  Cruttwell,  History  of  Rom, 111  Liter, iture,  bk.  III. 
chs.  vii-ix  ;    Simcox,  Latin  Literature,  II.  pts.  v-vii. 


The  Triumphal  Arch  of  Septimus  Severus 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE   GROWTH   OF  ABSOLUTE   MONARCHY 

(180-337  A.D.) 

From  Commodus  to  Constantine 

It  was  a  misfortune  to  the  empire  that  Marcus  Aurelius  commodus, 
had  an  unworthy  son,  especially  as  this  excellent  emperor,  180-192  a.d. 
in  nominating  a  successor,  lacked  the  strength  to  pass 
beyond  his  own  family  in  favor  of  some  capable  person. 
Under  good  rulers,  the  empire  might  long  have  continued 
prosperous;  as  matters  stood,  the  decline  began  with  Com- 
modus,  son  of   Aurelius.      He  was  a  weak-minded  young 

267 


268 


Grow///  of  Absolute  Monarchy 


Pertinax, 

K13  A.D. 


I  unarms, 
193  A.D. 


Septimius 
Severus, 

'''3        ' 


man,  easily  misled  by  vile  companions.  The  enjoyment 
of  power  made  him  vain,  brutish,  and  cruel.  While  he 
pursued  base  pleasures  and  fought  wild  beasts  in  the 
amphitheatre,  the  empire  fell  into  disorder.  The  soldiers 
lost  discipline  along  with  their  respect  for  their  ruler;  and 
many  deserted  to  find  a  livelihood  in  robbery.  The 
provinces  were  misgoverned,  and  the  capital  was  at  the 
mercy  of  the  pretorians,  who  were  no  longer  under  con- 
trol. After  twelve  years  of  such  government,  at  once  weak 
and  savage,  Commodus  was  strangled  by  a  young  athlete 
set  upon  him  by  Marcia,  the  emperor's  concubine,  who 
headed  a  conspiracy. 

His  successor  was  Pertinax,  who  had  already  proved  his 
ability  as  a  commander,  and  who  now  applied  himself  with 
.  great  energy  and  success  to  the  restoration  of  order.  He 
had  ruled  scarcely  three  months,  however,  when  the  pre- 
torians revolted  against  his  severe  discipline  and  murdered 
him.  Thereupon  they  offered  the  purple  robe  to  the  highest 
bidder.  Didius  Julianus,  a  wealthy  senator,  bought  it  by 
a  promise  to  pay  each  of  them  a  sum  equivalent  to  about 
twelve  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  At  the  same  time  he 
assured  them  they  should  have  all  the  license  they  had 
enjoyed  under  Commodus.  When  news  of  these  disgrace- 
ful proceedings  reached  the  troops  on  the  frontier,  it  made 
them  indignant.  The  armies  in  Syria,  on  the  Danube,  and 
in  Britain  nominated  their  own  commanders  to  the  office 
of  emperor,  and  each  prepared  to  enforce  its  will  by  arms. 
Septimius  Severus,  governor  of  Pannonia,  who  had  the 
best  army  and  was  nearest  Rome,  won  the  prize.  As  he 
approached  the  capital,  his  nomination  was  confirmed  by 
the  senate,  which  had  already  decreed  the  death  of  Julianus. 

Severus  was  the  first  emperor  born   in  Africa,  —  a  firm, 
d.    clear-headed  man  who  knew  well  the  needs  of  the  empire. 


Septim  ius  Set  'erus 


269 


The  emperor 
and  the  army. 


First  he  banished  the  ungovernable  pretorians  from  Rome, 

and  made  up  a  new  guard  of  forty  thousand  troops  selected, 

according  to  merit,  from  the  armies.     He  then  conquered 

and  killed  his  two  rivals,    Niger,  governor  of  Syria,  and 

Albinus,  of  Britain.     He  humbled  the  Parthians,  and  near 

the     end    of     his 

reign    he     fought 

in  Britain  against 

the    Caledonians. 

The    arch    which 

co  mmemorates 

his  victories  still 

stands     in     the 

Forum. 

The  greater 
part  of  his  energy, 
however,  he  de- 
voted to  improv- 
ing the  adminis- 
tration and  to 
increasing  the 
strength  of  the 
empire.  As  his 
authority  rested 
upon  the  armies, 
he  did  not  hesitate 

to  slight  the  senate.  Under  him,  therefore,  this  body 
lost  much  of  the  influence  it  had  enjoyed  in  the  pre- 
ceding period;  in  fact  his  reign  marks  an  important 
step  in  the  direction  of  absolute  monarchy.  The  theory 
that  the  emperor  was  above  the  laws  found  expres-  The  jurists, 
sion  and  support  in  the  teachings  of  the  lawyers  who  P.  253. 
formed    his   council.       Papinian,    perhaps    the   ablest   of 


Septimius  Severus 

(Capitoline  Museum,  Rome.) 


2  70 


Growth  of  Absolute  Monarchy 


P-  253- 


Equalization 
of  rights. 


Caracalla, 
211-217  A.i  (. 


Mai  rinus, 

217-218  A.I). 

Bassianus 
"  Elagaba- 
lus,'"  218- 
222  A.I>. 


Roman  jurists,  lived  at  this  time,  and  held  the  office  of 
pretorian  prefect.  It  has  been  said  of  him  that  his  love 
of  justice  equalled  his  knowledge  of  it;  and  in  the  follow- 
ing reign  he  sacrificed  his  life  for  the  sake  of  right. 
Ulpian,  a  younger  contemporary,  was  scarcely  less  emi- 
nent. Through  them  and  their  associates,  Roman  law 
reached  the  height  of  development;  later  jurists  did  little 
more  than  systematize  the  material  already  existing. 

The  legislation  of  the  great  jurists  affected  the  whole 
empire;  for  even  before  the  death  of  Severus  most  of  the 
provincials  were  Roman  citizens  under  the  protection  of 
Roman  law.  As  this  emperor  had  no  reverence  for  the 
senate  or  for  republican  traditions,  he  aimed  to  place  the 
provinces  on  a  level  with  Italy.  His  son  and  successor, 
Caracalla,  completed  the  development  of  ages  by  an  edict 
which  made  all  the  freemen  of  the  empire  Romans.1 
Unfortunately  citizenship  was  now  becoming  a  burden. 
Severus  had  increased  the  number  and  the  pay  of  the 
troops,  and  his  son  was  a  heedless  spendthrift.  Military 
service  and  special  taxes  on  citizens  had  therefore  grown 
oppressive;  and  those  whom  Caracalla  made  Romans  had 
to  take  upon  themselves  the  burdens  of  citizenship  in 
addition  to  those  they  had  borne  as  subjects.  Thus  the 
benefit  was  offset  by  disadvantages.  In  fact  the  author  of 
this  reform  cared  only  for  his  soldiers;  toward  all  others 
he  was  recklessly  brutal.  At  length  Macrinus,  a  pretorian 
prefect,  had  him  murdered,  and  reigned  in  his  stead. 

Macrinus  was  soon  overthrown  in  battle  by  Bassianus, 
who  in  turn  became  emperor.      He  was  a  cousin  of  Cara- 

1  Though    all    freemen    were    now  citizens,   certain   distinctions   "l 
privilege  remained;   some  communities  enjoyed  Roman  rights  without 
limitation,  others  Latin  rights,  and  still  others  Italian  rights.     But  this 
classiiicatiun  i.^  no  longer  important. 


Alexander  Sever/is  271 

calla,  and  though  a  mere  boy,  was  priest  of  Elagabalus,  a 
Syrian  sun-god  notorious  for  his  unclean  worship.  This 
ruler  is  known  by  the  name  of  his  deity,  whom  he  took 
to  the  capital  and  magnified  above  all  other  gods.  The 
impurity  of  his  rites  shocked  even  Rome.  While  his 
grandmother  ruled  for  him,  he  indulged  in  his  sensual 
worship  for  four  years,  when  the  soldiers  of  the  guard 
killed  him  in  a  mutiny. 

His  cousin  and  successor,   Alexander  Severus,  was  an   Alexander 
amiable    youth,    mentally,  gifted    and   of    excellent   moral    Severus' 

J  J     °  222-235  A.D. 

character.  But  it  was  unfortunate  that  at  a  time  when  the 
duties  of  the  imperial  office  called  loudly  for  a  man  of 
energy  and  iron,  the  prince  should  be  merely  a  good- 
natured  dreamer.  As  he  was  but  fourteen  on  his  acces- 
sion, the  government  rested  with  his  mother,  who  in  turn 
was  assisted  by  the  jurist  Ulpian,  prefect  of  the  guard, 
and  by  a  council  of  senators.  Reversing  the  policy  of 
Septimius  and  Caracalla,  this  administration  looked  to 
the  senate  to  counteract  the  growing  influence  of  the  army. 
Not  only  in  his  respect  for  republican  traditions,  but  also 
in  his  patronage  of  education,  in  his  attention  to  the  needs 
of  the  poor,  and  generally  in  his  policy  of  mildness  and 
justice,  Alexander  was  a  faint  imitation  of  the  good 
emperors.  He  was  too  weak,  however,  to  maintain  disci- 
pline among  the  soldiers  or  to  defend  the  empire. 

In  his  reign  a  new  danger  to  the  Roman  world  arose  in   The  new  Per- 
the    East.       Nearly    four    centuries    before    his    time,    the   sian  emPire- 
empire  of  the  Parthians  had  succeeded  that  of  the  Seleu-    P.  120. 
cidae.      It   extended    from    the    Euphrates  to    India,   and 
before  Trajan's  invasion   it  had  rivalled  Rome  in  power. 
From  that  date,  however,  it  began  to  decline;   the  ruling    p.  246. 
dynasty  of  the  Arsacidae  tried  in  vain  to  hold  the  multitude 
of  subject  nations  together.       The  Persians,  who  were  the 


272  Growth  of  Absolute  Monarchy 

most  vigorous  of  these  tributary  races,  asserted  their  inde- 
pendence, and,  in  227  a.d.,  Artaxerxes,  their  king,  the 
founder  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Sassanidae,  overthrew  the  Par- 
thian monarch  and  made  the  empire  Persian.  An  official 
change  of  religion  followed  this  political  event.  The 
Arsacidae  had  introduced  Greek  civilization  and  even  the 
Greek  gods  into  their  empire.  The  native  religion  of 
the  Persians,  on  the  other  hand,  as  taught  by  their  ancient 
prophet  Zoroaster,  was  a  dualism,  —  the  worship  of 
Ormazd,  the  spirit  of  Good  and  of  Light,  against  whom 
the  dark  and  evil  Ahriman  forever  warred.  The  believer 
hoped  that  in  the  end  the  Good  Spirit  would  triumph,  and 
would  reward  his  worshippers  according  to  their  merits. 
In  its  best  form  this  religion  approached  nearly  to  a 
monotheism,  whose  zealous  priests,  the  magians,  could 
tolerate  neither  Christianity  nor  idols.  Supported  by 
Artaxerxes,  the  eighty  thousand  or  more  magians  under- 
took to  suppress  every  other  form  of  worship  in  the  empire. 
Their  religious  fervor  strengthened  the  monarch  and  made 
him  aggressive  in  the  interest  of  his  god.  At  the  same 
time  his  talent  for  organization  gave  him  a  military 
power  which  the  Arsacida?  had  not  commanded  for 
generations, 
war  between  As  the  successor  of  the  great  Cyrus,  who  had  founded  the 
earlier  Persian  empire,  Artaxerxes  claimed  all  Asia,  and 
ordered  Alexander  Severus  to  confine  his  authority  to 
Europe.  This  demand  led  to  a  war,  in  which  the  Romans 
seem  to  have  been  disgracefully  beaten.  Though  the  Per- 
sian king  failed  to  enforce  his  extravagant  claim,  his 
empire  continued  thereafter  to  menace  Rome;  it  com- 
pelled her  to  weaken  the  northern  defences  in  order  to 
mass  troops  on  the  Euphrates,  at  a  time  when  the  Germanic 
races  were  threatening  invasion. 


Rome  ana 
Persia. 


Drifting  into  Anarchy  273 

After  his  conflict  with  Persia,   Alexander  went  to  war  Death  of 
against  the  Germans  on  the  Rhine;  but  before  he  could   Severus 
accomplish  anything  there,   he  was  murdered  by  his  sol-   235 A-D- 
diers.     The    imperial   guard    had    already  killed  Ulpian, 
their  prefect,  and  had  terrorized  the  government  as  well 
as  the  residents  of  Rome.     Thus  a  reign,  in  some  respects 


Sarcophagus  of  Alexander  Severus  and  his  Mother 

(Capitoline  Museum,  Rome.) 

happy,    ended   in   failure, — a  pleasant  twilight  before   a 
period  of  gloom. 

During  the  half  century  which  followed  the  death  of  Drifting  into 
Alexander,  the  government  suffered  continual  violence,  as  an^°J'A  D 
emperors  rapidly  rose  and  fell.  Sometimes  two  colleagues 
shared  in  harmony  the  imperial  office;  more  frequently 
rivals  for  the  throne  involved  the  empire  in  civil  war; 
rarely  did  a  wearer  of  the  purple  die  a  natural  death. 
About  the  middle  of  this  period  of  confusion  the  empire   260  a.d. 

T 


274 


Growth  of  Absolute  Monarchy 


268  A.I). 


Inroads  of  the 
barbarians. 
251  A.D. 


260  A.l). 


268-270  A.D. 


Aurelian, 
270-275  A.D. 


seemed  to  be  falling  into  fragments;  each  army  nominated 
its  commander  to  the  highest  office,  and  these  rival  pre- 
tenders, wrongly  numbered  and  misnamed  the  "Thirty 
Tyrants,"  brought  the  Roman  world  to  anarchy. 

While  civil  war  wasted  the  empire  and  drew  the  armies 
from  the  frontier,  the  enemies  of  Rome  met  with  their  first 
real  success  in  assailing  her.  On  the  north  the  Goths,  a 
Germanic  race,  after  plundering  Moesia  and  Macedonia, 
defeated  and  killed  the  emperor  Decius.  At  nearly  the 
same  time  their  western  kinsmen,  the  Franks  on  the  lower 
Rhine,  pushed  across  the  boundary,  between  the  Roman 
garrisons,  and  desolated  Gaul.  Soon  afterward  King  Sapor, 
the  energetic  son  of  Artaxerxes,  took  the  emperor  Valerian 
captive.  The  civilized  world  seemed  defenceless.  The 
Alemanni,  of  Germanic  race,  flung  themselves  upon  north- 
ern Italy,  and  in  combination  with  them  a  vast  horde  of 
Goths,  including  women  and  children,  crossed  the  Dan- 
ube to  seek  homes  within  the  provinces.  Fortunately  at 
this  crisis  Rome  found  an  able  ruler  in  Marcus  Aurelius 
Claudius,  who  drove  back  the  Alemanni,  and  destroyed 
the  invading  host  of  Goths. 

His  successor,  Aurelian,  the  most  competent  emperor 
since  Septimius  Severus,  withdrew  the  last  garrisons  from 
Dacia,  — which  he  gave  over  to  the  Goths,  — and  brought 
the  boundary  once  more  to  the  Danube.  This  was  the 
first  territory  lost  to  the  empire.  He  then  destroyed  an 
army  of  the  Alemanni,  who  had  again  invaded  Italy.  As  the 
barbarians  thus  began  to  threaten  the  capital  itself,  he 
surrounded  it  with  a  wall,  which  is  still  standing,' — a 
magnificent  work,  yet  a  monument  of  the  weakness  and 
decay  of  Rome.  Two  great  fragments  had  recently  broken 
from  the  empire:  in  the  East,  Queen  Zenobia,  from  her 
splendid  court  in  Palmyra,  ruled  Syria,  Egypt,  and  a  large 


An  ir  I  inn 


75 


part  of  Asia  Minor;  in  the  West,  the  senator  Tetricus  was 
emperor  of  Gaul,  Britain,   and  northern  Spain.      By  con- 
quering both  these  pretenders,  however,  Aurelian  restored   274  a.d. 
the  unity  of  the  empire. 

He  showed  equal  energy  in  administration.     Simple  and   a  despot  of 
frugal  in  his  personal  habits,  in  public  he  appeared  like  an   t 
Oriental    despot,    surrounded    with    grand    ceremony    and 


The  Wall  of  Aurelian 


requiring  his  subjects  to  worship  him, — a  "Lord  and 
God  "  who  brooked  no  interference  from  his  senate.  But 
before  he  could  reform  the  government  according  to  these 
new  ideas,  his  life  was  cut  short  by  an  assassin.  The  army 
and  the  people  honored  him  after  his  death  as  one  who 
had  been  a  worthy  ruler.  His  great  achievement  was  the 
restoration  of  the  empire  to  a  condition  which  enabled  it 
to  endure  through  successive  reigns,  till  Diocletian,  a  still 
abler  man,  put  on  the  purple  robe. 


284  A.D. 


276  Growth  of  Absolute  Monarchy 

a  century  of         More  than  a  century  had  intervened  between  the  death 
revolution,       o^  Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus  and  the  accession  of  Dio- 

180-284  A. II. 

cletian, — a  period  of  weakness  in  the  defence  of  the 
empire,  of  internal  violence  and  anarchy.  Let  us  now 
summarize  the  causes,  the  character,  and  the  results  of 
this  long   revolution. 

The  causes  of       The    happiness  of    the   Roman   world   under   the   good 

Hon™  emperors  was  chiefly  due  to  the  wisdom  of  a  line  of  rulers 

who  were  able  to  secure  the  good  will  of  the  senate  and  of 
the  populace  of  Rome,  the  subordination  of  the  pretorians 
and  of  the  army,  and  the  respect  of  surrounding  nations. 
A  system,  however,  in  which  so  much  depends  upon  the 
accidental  succession  of  able  rulers  cannot  be  lasting.  No 
sooner  had  the  weak  Commodus  come  to  the  throne  than 
the  forces  of  destruction  began  to  appear.  While  the 
interior  provinces,  enfeebled  by  centuries  of  peace,  pas- 
sively bore  the  burdens  of  taxation  and  permitted  inter- 
ference with  the  liberties  of  their  towns,  the  populace  of 

P.  156.  Rome,  since  Gaius  Gracchus,  had  not  ceased  to  be  revolu- 

tionary. When  scantily  supplied  with  amusement  and 
food,  it  threatened  the  government  and  the  peace  of  the 
world.  The  interests  of  the  senate,  which  was  still  influ- 
ential, often  clashed  with  those  of  the  monarch  or  the 
soldiers.  The  pretorians,  too,  established  as  a  guard  of 
the  emperor's  person,  were  ready  to  kill  him  in  order  to 
secure  a  gift  from  his  successor.  The  armies  on  the  fron- 
tier, recruited  chiefly  from  the  border  provinces,  contained 
nearly  all  that  was  left  of  the  discipline  and  the  virtue  of 
the  Roman  world.     After  nominating  the  emperors  Galba, 

p.  231  ff.  Vitellius,  and  Vespasian,  they  had  forgotten  their  political 
power  till  they  learned  it  anew  from  the  insolent  guards  of 
Commodus.  Not  least  among  the  causes  of  alarm  were  the 
waves  of  barbarians  dashing  at  intervals  over  the  borders; 


The  Revolution 


277 


against  this  storm  Rome  itself,  in  situation  as  well  as  in 

the  character  and  the  traditions  of  the  inhabitants,  was  ill 

suited  to  serve  as  a  centre  of  resistance. 

The  weakness  and  brutality  of  Commodus  precipitated   Thecharacter 
_,  .  ,  ,     ,  and  results  of 

the  revolution.       I  he  pretonans  not  only  trampied  upon   tnerevoiu- 

the  senate  and  the  residents  of  the  capital,  but  also  asserted   tion- 

a   right  to  make    and    to    unmake    emperors.      Then   the 


A  Capital  from  one  of  the  Temples  in  Palmyra 

(Temple  ruins  in  the  background.) 

armies,  jealous  of  the  pampered  guard,  fought  against  it, 
against  the  senate,  and  against  one  another.  This  civil 
war,  after  rendering  the  pretorians  helpless  and  depriving 
the  senate  of  its  last  remnant  of  authority,  decided  that 
the  sovereign  should  be  a  general,  the  choice  of  the  soldiers 
who  protected  the  empire.  Though  this  result  was  iiTsome 
measure  good,  the  rival  claimants  for  the  office,  by  their 
civil  strife,  threatened  to  break  up  the  Roman  world  into 


278 


Growth  of  Absolute  Monarchy 


Diocletian 
secures  the 
results 


His  plan  of 
administra- 
tion. 


a  multitude  of  warring  states.  To  prevent  such  a  disaster, 
it  was  necessary  to  strengthen  the  imperial  office.  As  the 
task  of  government  seemed  too  great  for  a  single  ruler, 
more  than  one  sovereign  in  this  period  tried  the  experi- 
ment of  sharing  his  duties  and  his  honors  with  a  colleague. 
Again,  as  the  collapse  of  old  institutions  and  of  the  old 
nobility  exposed  the  emperor  more  than  ever  before  to  the 
knives  of  assassins  and  to  the  pikes  of  mutinous  soldiers, 
he  sought  new  safeguards  for  his  person  and  his  authority. 
He  put  on  a  crown  and  a  silken  robe  which  sparkled  with 
jewels  and  gold;  he  claimed  to  be  a  god,  and  compelled 
his  subjects  to  prostrate  themselves  before  him,  thus  plac- 
ing his  authority  on  the  basis  of  divine  right;  and  he  sur- 
rounded the  throne  with  the  circles  of  a  new  nobility  of 
various  grades,  each  attended  by  its  appropriate  degree  of 
pomp  and  ceremony.  Finally  Rome  ceased  to  be  the 
capital  in  all  but  name,  as  the  soldier-emperors  took  up 
their  abode  at  the  posts  of  danger,  and  issued  their  decrees 
from  the  provincial  cities. 

It  was  the  work  of  Diocletian  to  discover  the  trend  of 
the  revolution  and  to  embody  its  results  in  institutions, 
most  of  which  remained  permanent.  A  freedman's  son  and 
a  soldier  by  profession,  he  made  his  way  to  the  imperial 
office  by  genius  and  force  of  will.  As  emperor  he  devoted 
twenty-one  laborious  years  to  the  discharge  of  his  high 
trust.  Amid  conflicting  political  forces  as  amid  the  dan- 
gers of  war,  he  continued  calm  and  dignified,  while  his 
masterful  intellect  commanded  obedience  and  respect. 

He  first  chose  as  colleague  Maximian,  a  rough  but  able 
soldier.  Although  each  emperor  bore  the  title  Augustus, 
Diocretian  remained  superior.  They  divided  the  Roman 
world  between  them,  Diocletian  taking  the  East  and  his 
i  ^league  the  West.      Later  two  Cresars,  Galerius  and  Con- 


Diocletian 


279 


stantius  Chlorus,  were  appointed  as  heirs  of  the  Augusti. 
Each  of  the  Caesars  received  likewise  the  administration 
of  a  definite  territory.  Retaining  the  extreme  East  for 
himself,  Diocletian  gave  Galerius  the  provinces  on  and 
near  the  Danubian  boundary;  Maximian  governed  Italy, 
Africa,  and  Spain;  and  Constantius,  Gaul  and  Britain. 
Thus  the  most  dangerous  and  laborious  posts  were  assigned 


Temple  of  the  Sun 

(Baalbec,  Syria.) 


to  the  Caesars.  Each  of  the  four  rulers  chose  a  convenient 
city  for  his  capital  and  appointed  a  pretorian  prefect  to 
aid  him  in  administering  the  civil  affairs  of  his  district, 
which  was  named  therefore  a  prefecture.  They  divided 
the  four  great  prefectures  into  twelve  dioceses,  which  they 
placed  under  vicegerents  —  vicarii.  The  dioceses  con- 
sisted each  of  several  small  provinces,  of  which  there  were 
now  more  than  a  hundred  in  all.     The  provinces  were  gov- 


280  Growth  of  Absolute  Monarchy 

erned,  according  to   their  importance,  by  proconsuls,  by 
correctores,  or  by  presidents,  who  in  turn  commanded  the 
service   of  a  host  of  lower  officials.     As  a  rule  the  pro- 
vincial  governors   obeyed   the  vicegerents,  who   received 
their  orders  from  the  prefects,  each  of  whom,  in  turn,  was 
under  a  Caesar  or  an  Augustus.     Military  and  civil  duties 
were  now  distinct.      Corresponding  with  the  civil  offices 
just  mentioned  were  masters  of  troops,  dukes,  counts,  and 
lesser  military  officials.     The  nobles  who  filled  the  higher 
civil  and  military  positions  were  the  Honorable,  the  Re- 
spectable, and  the  Illustrious.1     Above  the  Illustrious  was 
the    rank    of    Caesar,    and,    highest    of    all,   Augustus   was 
Most   Sacred    Lord.       This   system    finally   equalized  the 
empire.     As  Rome  ceased   to  be   the  capital,   the  senate 
became    essentially  a  city  council,  and  Italy  was  divided 
into  provinces.       The   new   organization   of    the    Roman 
government   and    society  here    outlined   was   mainly    the 
work    of    Diocletian,    though    it    began    before    him    and 
received   additional    touches    later   from    Constantine  the 
Great. 
Troubles  foi-         The    empire   was   enjoying   peace    and   good   order    in 
lowhisreign,  x{)      wjien    Diocletian    resigned    his    authority   and 

compelled  Maximian,  his  colleague,  to  do  the  same. 
Thereupon  the  two  Caesars  became  Augusti,  and  new 
Caesars  were  appointed  to  take  the  place  of  the  old. 
Immediately  Diocletian's  system,  in  most  respects  admi- 
rable, proved  defective  in  the  provision  for  the  succession. 
It  appeared,  too,  that  the  senior  Augustus  lacked  the  means 
of  holding  his  colleague  and  the  Caesars  to  their  respec- 
tive duties.  These  high  magistrates,  together  with  other 
aspirants  for  power  who  arose  from  time  to  time,  involved 

1  Clarissitni,  Clarissimi  et  Spectabiles^  Clarissimi  et  Inlustres, 


3°5-323  A.D. 


; 


THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE 

1     X  I  >I  '.It 

DIOCLETIAN  and  CONSTANTINE 


SCALE  OF   MILES 
ill  I     mill 


For  Chapters  XII.  XII 


Longitude  Ea      


Constantine  281 

the  Roman  world  in  civil  wars,  till  Constantine,  known  to   Constantine 
history    as    the    Great,    the    son    of    Constantius    Chlorus,    ne    re,aL 

312  and  313 

became  emperor  of  the  West  and  Licinius  of  the  East.  a.d. 
Though  Constantine  gave  his  sister  in  marriage  to  Licinius, 
he  afterward  fought  against  him,  took  him  captive,  and  put 
him  to  death.  Thus,  in  323  a.d.,  the  empire  was  reunited 
under  Constantine  as  sole  monarch.  His  reign  was  marked 
by  two  important  events,  —  the  public  recognition  of  Chris- 
tianity and  the  selection  of  Byzantium  as  the  capital  of  the 
empire. 

Notwithstanding  all  opposition  the  Church  had  grown   Growth  of 

...  ,  r  .  ,.  ,r,         ,      ,  ,  .     the  Christian 

rapidly    since    Marcus    Aurehus.       Ihe    last    and    severest   Church 
persecution  began  under   Diocletian  and  was  carried  on    p.  265. 
by  Galerius,  his  successor   in   the   East.     When  at   length   3Q3-311  a.d. 
Galerius  saw  that  he  could  by  no  means  destroy  the  Chris- 
tians or  suppress  their  faith,  he  granted  them   toleration   311  a.d. 
and  requested  their  prayers  for  his  welfare.     On  the  other 
hand  Constantius  Chlorus,  emperor  in  the  West,  had  fa- 
vored them  from  the  beginning;  and  his  policy  was  inher- 
ited  by  his   son.     Though   the   Christians   still   formed  a 
small  minority  —  possibly  a  twentieth  —  of  the  population, 
for  two  reasons  they  were  remarkably  strong:  first,  whereas 
the  pagans  were  lukewarm   in  the  interests  of   their  gods 
and  of  their  political  leaders,  the  Christians  were  energetic 
and  zealous;  and  second,  they  had  a  thorough  organization, 
patterned  after  that  of  the  State. 

In    the    beginning    each    congregation    had   been    inde-    Organization 
pendent.     It  had  its  officers :  deacons   who  cared  for  the    p-merton 
poor;    elders,    or  presbyters,    who  as   the    council   of   the    introduction 
church    looked   after   its    interests;    and   an   overseer,    or   /0/' 

Ages,  p.  97. 

bishop,  the  chief  of  the  presbyters.  In  course  of  time,  as 
the  church  of  a  given  city  sent  out  branches  to  neighboring 
towns  and  rural  districts,  the  bishop  of  the  parent  comma- 


282 


Grozvth  of  Absolute  Monarchy 


Constantine 
is  converted, 
and  publicly 
recognizes 
Christianity. 


The  council 
of  Nicaea, 
325  A.D. 


nity  came  to  have  authority  over  a  group  of  congregations. 
Again,  among  the  bishops  of  the  age  of  Constantine,  some 
differences  of  rank  and  of  influence  were  already  appear- 
ing. Those  of  a  province  looked  for  guidance  to  the  high- 
est religious  officer  of  the  provincial  capital,  who  though 
essentially  a  bishop,  was  usually  called  a  metropolitan. 
Above  him  in  dignity  were  the  patriarchs  of  such  cities  as 
Antioch  and  Alexandria,  while  the  bishop  of  Rome  was 
acquiring  the  greatest  influence  of  all.  In  brief,  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Church  was  becoming  a  monarchy.  In 
another  way,  too,  the  Christian  world  was  learning  to  act 
in  unison.  The  religious  officials  of  a  province  frequently 
met  in  council;  and  sometimes  a  gathering  represented  a 
much  larger  area.  Thus  the  tendency  to  centralization  was 
already  strong  in  the  Church. 

Constantine  saw  the  advantage  he  might  derive  from  the 
support  of  this  powerful  organization.  Accordingly  he  and 
Licinius,  in  313  a.d.,  issued  their  famous  Edict  of  Milan, 
which  granted  toleration  to  all  religions,  without  excep- 
tion, and  raised  Christianity  to  an  equal  footing  with 
paganism.  To  keep  the  good  will  of  the  pagans,  Con- 
stantine continued  to  support  the  worship  of  the  ancient 
gods;  at  the  same  time  he  professed  the  new  faith,  and 
encouraged  it  rather  than  the  old.  Let  us  not  imagine  that 
his  avowed  conversion  improved  his  character.  He  con- 
tinued to  be  what  he  had  been, —  a  man  without  heart  or 
scruple,  more  pagan  perhaps  than  Christian,  ready  to  serve 
himself  by  hypocrisy  or  bloodshed.  Nevertheless,  as  a 
far-sighted  statesman,  he  worked  consistently  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  empire. 

In  his  time  the  Church  was  becoming  more  and  more 
distracted  by  quarrels  over  points  of  belief.  In  spite  of 
the  fact  that  Jesus  had  taught  no  system  of  doctrine,  the 


The  Church  283 

leaders  of  the  Church,  especially  in  the  East,  were  attempt- 
ing to  build  up  an  intricate  and  subtle  theology,  patterned 
after  the  philosophic  systems  of  the  Creeks.  As  they  had 
little  basis  for  their  views,  they  naturally  differed  on  main 
points.  The  chief  of  all  controversies  was  that  between 
two  Church  officials  of  Egypt,  —  Athanasius  and  Arius,  - 
concerning  the  nature  of  Christ.  Although  both  admitted 
that  He  was  the  Son  of  Cod,  Arius  maintained  that  the 
Son  had  come  into  existence  later  than  the  Father  and  was 
by  nature  inferior  to  Him.  On  the  other  hand,  Athanasius 
asserted  absolute  equality  between  the  Son  and  the  Father. 
In  order  to  strengthen  the  Church  by  securing  uniformity 
of  belief  on  this  as  well  as  on  other  points,  Constantine 
called  a  council  of  bishops  from  all  parts  of  the  world  to 
meet  at  Nicaea,  a  city  in  northwestern  Asia  Minor,  to  settle 
the  disputes  and  to  decide  upon  a  creed  which  all  should 
accept.  By  adopting  the  view  of  Athanasius,  the  council 
made  it  orthodox,  while  that  of  his  opponent  became  a 
heresy.  The  West  readily  accepted  the  Nicene  Creed,  as 
this  decision  is  called;  and  in  this  manner  it  has  come 
down  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  to  most  of  the 
Protestant  denominations  of  to-day:  but  Arianism  con- 
tinued widespread  in  the  East. 

The  council  of   Nicaea  was  the  first  gathering  which  pro-    increased 
fessed  to  represent  the  entire  Christian  world.     The  insti-   ^church, 
tution  of  'such  a  general    council,    to   meet   as   occasion 
demanded,  added  greatly  to  the  power  of  the  Church  in 
its  contest  with  paganism,    and   exalted   the   clergy  to   a 
place  no  religious  body  had  ever  held  before. 

Constantine  took  a  step  next  in  importance  to  the  recog-   constanti- 
nition  of  Christianity,  when  he  chose  as  his  residence  the    nople 
Creek  city  of  Byzantium,  henceforth  named  Constantinople 
after  himself.      It  was  admirablv  situated   for  commerce, 


284 


Growth  of  Absolute  Monarchy 


and  was  much  nearer  than  Rome  to  the  frontiers  of  the 
Danube  and  the  Euphrates,  which  especially  needed 
defence.  As  the  East  and  the  West  were  drifting  apart, 
it  was  of  the  utmost  importance  that  each  division  should 
have  a  capital  and  a  stable  government.  Partly  as  a  result 
of  this  act  of  Constantine,  the  Eastern,  or  Byzantine  branch 
of  the  empire  continued  nearly  to  the  discovery  of  America, 
when  it  was  overthrown  by  the  Turks.  Milan  had  in  fact 
become  the  capital  of   the  West,   but  Rome  enjoyed   the 


I'm.  Basilica  of  Constantine 


honor  of  a  nominal  headship,  and  the  favor  of  the  emperor 
in  her  public  improvements.  The  triumphal  arch  of  Con- 
stantine stands  near  the  Colosseum,  and  the  ruins  of  his 
great  basilica  may  be  seen  on  the  north  side  of  the  Sacred 
P.  234.  Way,  between  the  Colosseum  and  the  Forum.     But  Roman 

architecture  had  sadly  declined;  the  ornaments  of  the  arch 
just  mentioned  were  stolen  from  that  of  Trajan.  Rome  had 
lost  everything  but  her  monuments  and  her  memories  of  the 
past.  The  senate,  the  city  plebs,  and  the  traditions  of  the 
republic  could   not  reach  the  monarch  who  sat  in  Oriental 


Constitutional  Development  285 

state  on  his  throne  in  Constantinople,  and  who  neglected 
Jupiter  for  the  worship  of  Jehovah  and  of  Jesus.  Yet 
Rome  was  to  see  better  days.  In  her  bishops  she  already 
had  the  earlier  members  of  a  succession  of  religious  mon- 
archs, — the  popes, — who  were  to  become  more  powerful 
than  the  Caesars  had  been,  and  whose  palaces  and  cathe- 
drals were  to  make  the  eternal  city  the  most  splendid  in 
the  world  of  to-day. 

In  Constantine  the  long  constitutional  development  of   Summary  of 

,   .       ,     .    ,  ^.  ,  •  ii-  Roman  con- 

Rome  reached  its  height.  First  petty  kings  had  given  way  stitutional 
to  an  aristocratic,  warlike  republic,  which  extended  its  development 
power  and  became  imperial.  Then,  when  great  person- 
alities like  Pompey  and  Caesar  began  to  overshadow  the 
freedom  of  the  ruling  class,  the  senate  saved  for  itself  a 
share  of  power  and  a  tradition  of  liberty  by  dividing  its 
authority  with  the  ablest  citizen,  who  in  time  became  a 
monarch  by  gradual  usurpation.  The  relation  between  the 
monarch  and  the  senate,  though  fairly  adjusted  under  the 
good  emperors,  was  disturbed  by  the  hundred  years  of 
revolution,  which  ended  in  basing  authority  on  divine 
right,  on  a  hierarchy  of  officials,  and  on  the  power  of  the 
sword.  This  triple  basis  of  Diocletian's  system  Constan- 
tine preserved  and  strengthened.  He  retained  the  pre- 
fectures and  the  dioceses,  and  still  further  increased  the 
number  of  the  provinces.  Though  temporarily  restored, 
the  empire. declined  after  him,  till  it  fell;  but  many  of  the 
ideas  and  administrative  methods  of  Diocletian  and  Con- 
stantine passed  as  a  legacy  to  the  mediaeval  and  modern 
kingdoms  and  empires. 

While  these  two  statesmen  were  making  the  government  Economic 
more  effective,  they  were  adding  to  the  causes  of  social  and    p  26s  ff 
economic  decay.     We  have  seen  the  beginnings  of  decline 
in  the  reign  of  Marcus  Aurelius.     Long  before  him,  in  fact, 


286 


Growth  of  Absolute  Monarchy 


p.  262. 


Roman  soci- 
ety becomes 
a  caste 
system. 


P.  249. 


slavery  had  been  destroying  the   free  population;   in  his 
time   the   plague,  and  after  him  foreign  and  civil   wars, 
continued  to  reduce  the  population,  while  the  increasing 
burden  of  taxation  made   life   every  day  more  wretched. 
The  wealth  of  the  empire  flowed  to  the  East  in  exchange 
for  useless  luxuries;  and   in  lack  of  gold  and  silver  the 
coinage  was  debased.     Then,  too,  the  growing  splendor  of 
the  imperial  courts  added  to  the  burden.     With  their  scant 
means,  many  found  it  impossible  to  support  families;  and 
even  the   slaves  grew  fewer.  •  Under  these  circumstances 
most  of    the    lower   population,    free    and    slave,    became 
hereditary  serfs,  — the  coloni  already  mentioned,'  —  bound 
to  the  soil  and  to  the  payment  of  fixed  dues  to  their  lords. 
But  it  was  not  only  the  poor  who  suffered.     The  muni- 
cipia  had  once  enjoyed  freedom  in  local  affairs,  each  gov- 
erned by  a  senate,  whose  members,  termed  decuriones,  were 
the   wealthier   men    of    the    community.       Gradually    the 
emperors  had  encroached  upon  the  liberty  of  these  cities, 
till  they  had  converted  even  the  privileges  of  the  senators 
into    intolerable    burdens.       For   as   these   officials   were 
responsible   for   the   taxes  due   from  their  districts,  many 
of  them,  unable  to  wring  the  required  amount  from   the 
poorer    classes,    were    themselves    reduced    to     poverty. 
Nevertheless  they  could  not  leave  their  city  without  per- 
mission, or  in  any  way  shirk  their  duty,  but  were  held  for 
life  by  an  iron  hand  to  the  unenviable  work  of  collecting 
and  of  paying  oppressive  taxes.     Artisans  and  traders,  too, 
were  bound  strictly  to  their  hereditary  vocations,  in  order 
that  the  government  might  be  sure  of  the  dues  to  which 
they  were  subject.      In  brief,  society  had  been  forced  into 
a  rigid  caste  system,  which  crushed  freedom,  and  made 
the  life  of  rich  and  poor,  bond  and  free,  almost  equally 
wretched. 


The  Genitalis  and  Christianity  287 

Under  these  conditions  the  people,  especially  of  the  The  Germans 
interior  provinces,  had  grown  unwarlike,  incapable  of  tianity  trans- 
defending  themselves  against  the  barbarians.     For  centu-   form  the  em" 

pire. 

ries  they  had  been  unused  to  arms ;  and  now  those  whose 

spirits  were  still  unbroken  by  toil  suffered  from  the  demor-    Pp.  235,3461. 

alizing  influence  of  their  theatres  and  gladiatorial  shows. 


The  Triumphal  Arch  of  Constantine 

The  government  therefore  found  it  more  and  more  neces- 
sary to  make  up  the  armies  of  Germans,  who- consequently  P.  262. 
settled  in  the  empire  in  ever  increasing  numbers.  These 
people  readily  adopted  those  features  of  Roman  life  and 
civilization  which  were  suited  to  their  nature,  but  they 
were  too  independent  to  submit  to  the  iron  government  or  P.  295. 
to  the  equally  rigid  social  system  of  Rome.  Accordingly 
while  the  Germans  who  defended  the  Roman  world  were 


288  Growth  of  Absolute  Monarchy 

acquiring  much  of  its  civilization,  they,  with  the  Chris- 
tians, were  helping  undermine  the  empire  itself.  And  the 
wisest  men  could  not  know  how  soon  even  these  German 
defences  would  fall  before  the  barbarian  tempest  which  was 
to  sweep  across  the  border. 

Reading 

Pelham,  Outlines  of  Roman  History,  bk.  VI.  ch.  ii  ;  bk.  VII.  ch.  i  ; 
C.ibbon,  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  chs.  iv-xviii  ;  Duruy, 
History  of  Rome  (VI-VIII).  chs.  lxxxviii-civ  ;  Freeman,  Historical 
Essays,  iii :  Illyrian  Emperors  ;  Mommsen,  Provinces  of  the  Roman 
Empire  (consult  Index);  Mason,  Persecution  of  Diocletian ;  Wood, 
Ruins  of  Palmyra  and  Baalbec;  Ware,  Zenobia  ;  Aurelian  (novels). 

Church    History 

Eusebius,  Ecclesiastical  History,  v-x  ;  Allard,  Le  Chrislianisme  et 
V Empire  Romain  de  Neron  e  Theodose  ;  Les  dernieres  Persecutions  du 
troisieme  Sucle  ;  Stanley,  History  of  the  Eastern  Church,  lects.  ii-vi  ; 
Farrar,  Early  Days  of  Christianity ;  Fisher,  Beginnings  of  Chris- 
tianity;  History  of  the  Christian  Church;  Fulton  (editor),  Ten 
Epochs  in  Church  History;  Geffcken,  Church  and  State;  Hatch, 
Organization  of  the  Early  Christian  Churches;  Kurtz,  Church  His- 
tory, 3  vols.;  Milman,  History  of  Christianity,  3  vols.;  Latin  Chris- 
tianity, 8  vols.  ;  Moeller,  History  of  the  Christian  Chinch,  2  vols.  ; 
Morrison,  The  Jews  under  Roman  Rule  (Nations)  ;  Neander,  History 
of  the  Christian  Religion  and  Church,  5  vols.  ;  Renan,  Influence  of  the 
Institutions,  Thought,  and  Culture  of  Rome  on  Christianity  and  the 
Development  of  the  Catholic  Church  ;  Robertson,  History  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  8  vols.;  Uhlhorn,  Conflict  of  Christianity  "with  Heathen- 
ism; Boissier,  La  Fin  du  Paganisme ;  Alzog,  Manual  of  Universal 
Church  History,   . 


The  Roman  Forum 

(In  the  immediate  foreground  is  the  Temple  of  Vespasian  ;  beyond  the  road  on  the 
left  is  the  Arch  of  Septimius  Severus ;  on  the  right  the  Temple  of  Saturn,  beyond  which 
is  the  Basilica  Julia,  and  still  farther  the  three  columns  of  the  Temple  of  Castor  and 
Pollux;  above  the  latter  are  trees  growing  on  the  Palatine  Mount.  Near  the  Temple 
of  Castor  and  Pollux  is  the  foundation  of  the  Temple  of  Vesta,  and  farther,  on  the 
top  of  the  ridge,  we  can  see  the  Arch  of  Titus.) 


CHAPTER    XIII 


THE   INVASIONS  OF   THE   BARBARIANS   AND   THE    FALL 
OF  THE   EMPIRE   IN   THE   WEST 

(337-476  A.D.) 

"  A  foreign  foe,  alas !  shall  tread  the  City's  ashes  down, 
And  his  horse's  ringing  hoofs  shall  smite  her  places  of  renown, 
And  the  bones  of  great  Quirinus,  now  religiously  enshrined, 
Shall  be  flung  by  sacrilegious  hands  to  the  sunshine  and  the  wind." 

Horace,  Epodes,  16. 


Constantine  was  followed  by  his  three  sons,  who  inher- 
ited the  bad  traits  of  their  father  without  his  ability.  First 
they  treacherously  massacred  nearly  all  their  kinsmen  to   337 a.d. 

u  289 


Constantine 
II,  Constan- 
tius,  and 
Constans, 


290 


Barb, 


anan 


Im 


'as  ions 


Eutropius 
x.  10. 
P.  2-/4. 


Julian  "  the 
Apostate." 

357  A.D. 

Ammianus 
xvi.  12. 


361  A.I). 

Gardner, 

'Jul  1  an. 


363-476  A.D. 

Valentinian, 
364-375  A.IJ. 

Pp.  262,  287. 


rid  themselves  of  possible  rivals.  Afterward  Constans,  the 
youngest,  was  killed  by  his  brother  Constantine,  who  in 
turn  was  slain  by  a  usurper;  so  that  of  the  three  brothers 
Constantius  alone  survived.  "  He  suffered  many  grievous 
calamities  at  the  hands  of  the  Persians;  his  towns  were 
taken,  his  walled  cities  besieged,  and  his  troops  cut  off." 
At  the  same  time  the  Franks  and  the  Alemanni  from  Ger- 
many were  storming  cities  and  spreading  devastation 
through  Gaul.  The  emperor's  cousin  Julian,  leaving  his 
philosophic  studies  in  Athens,  took  command  in  this 
wretched  province,  and  routed  the  Alemanni  in  a  great 
battle  at  Strassburg.  He  drove  the  barbarians  from  Gaul 
and  strengthened  the  frontier  defences.  The  philosopher, 
who  thus  proved  his  ability  to  rule,  became  sole  emperor 
on  the  death  of  his  cousin.  Disgusted  with  the  character 
of  his  Christian  kinsmen,  he  became  a  pagan,  and  labored 
to  suppress  Christianity.  Wisely,  however,  he  refrained 
from  persecution;  but  his  mild  efforts  to  restore  the  gods 
of  the  old  world  naturally  failed.  He  was  still  a  young 
man  when,  after  a  brilliant  campaign  against  the  Persians, 
he  was  killed  by  an  arrow  of  the  enemy.  In  him  the 
empire  lost  an  able  ruler  and  defender. 

Soon  after  his  death  the  barbarians  began  to  break 
through  the  frontier  and  to  settle  permanently  within  the 
empire.  Before  taking  up  the  story  of  these  invasions, 
however,  we  shall  notice  briefly  the  more  important  rulers 
of  the  century  between  Julian  and  the  dissolution  of  the 
empire  in  the  West. 

In  the  year  after  Julian's  death,  the  army  made  Valen- 
tinian emperor.  Ferocious  in  temper,  yet  strong  and  just, 
he  was  well  adapted  to  command  the  imperial  troops,  most 
of  whom  were  now  barbarians.  Through  the  eleven  years 
of  his  reign  he  maintained  the  hard-pressed  frontiers  of 


Theodosius  291 

Britain  and  Gaul,  and  even  crossed  the  Rhine  to  chastise 

the  Alemanni   in   their   own   country.      His  weak   brother   Valens, 

Valens,  however,  to  whom  he  had  given  the  East,  allowed 

a  great  host  of  Goths  to  cross  the  Danube  and  to  settle   364-378  a.d. 

within  the  empire.     They  even  defeated  and  killed  him.    P.  297  f. 

The  Eastern  and  Western  branches  of  the  empire  continued 

under    separate    governments    till    Theodosius   the    Great 

united  them  for  a  brief  season.     .This  ruler  distinguished 

himself,  too,  by  making  Christianity  the  sole  religion  of   Theodosius, 

the  State.     When  he   ordered  the  pagan  temples  closed,    379-395 ;  sole 

emperor 

those  who  carried  out  his  edict  destroyed   many  of   the   394-395  a.d. 
buildings  and  broke  the  images.     Though  the  pagans  were   P.  298. 
forbidden  to  worship  their  gods,  some  quietly  persisted  in 
their  illegal  devotion  for  at  least  a  century  longer.     Theo- 
dosius was    equally  zealous    for    uniformity    of    Christian 
faith.     By  persecuting  the  Arians  and  other  heretical  sects   p.  283. 
he  hoped  to  establish  the  Nicene  Creed  throughout  the 
East.     Under  him  orthodox  Christianity  thus  became  intol- 
erant of   all  other  faiths.      It  was  chiefly  this  theological 
zeal  which  earned  for  him  the  title  of  "the  Great." 

At  his  death  the  empire  was  again  divided  ;  Arcadius,    The  empire 
one  of  his  sons,   received  as  his  portion  the  East,1  and   dmded' 

'  ,  395  a.d. 

Honorius,    the  other,  was  given    the  West.      Though  the   Burv  j^atcr 

Roman  Em- 
1  In  the  reign  of  Arcadius,  John,  whose  eloquence  won  (or  him  the  sur-    pire,  i.  p'.  61 
name  Chrysostom  —  golden-mouthed  —  became  patriarch  of  Constanti-    ft", 
nople.     He   had  forsaken  the  profession  of  law  for  a  life   of  solitary 
devotion.    After  some  years,  however,  he  left  his  mountain  cave  to  preach 
in  Antioch.     When   the    fame  of  his    wonderful  oratory  reached   tlu 
Christians  of  Constantinople,  they  forced  him  to  come  to  their  city. 
Installed   as   patriarch,  he  applied  himself  with   great    energy   to   the 
government    of   the  Church.      Me    compelled    most    of   the    religious 
officials  of  the  Eastern  empire  to  how  to  his  will;    he  persecuted  here- 
tics;   and    he    denounced  the  sins  of  Christians,  without  sparing  the 
nobles  or  even   the   empress   Eudoxia,  wife  of  Arcadius.     In  revenge 
she  plotted   his  ruin.     By  the  decree  of  a  Church  council  she  drove 


292 


Barbarian  Invasions 


p.  284. 


p.  302 


Valentinian 

111,423-455 

A.D. 

Ricimer 

governs, 

456-472  A.D. 


Orestes 
governs, 
475-476  A.D. 

Romulus 
(nicknamed 
Augustulus) 
475-476  A.D. 
P.  309. 


Eastern  branch  maintained  itself  thereafter  for  more  than 
a  thousand  years,  the  Western  gradually  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  barbarians.  At  the  same  time  the  government  of 
the  West  came  more  and  more  under  their  influence. 
It  was  significant  of  this  changing  condition  that  Galla 
Placidia,  the  beautiful,  accomplished  sister  of  Honorius, 
became  the  wife  of  Ataulf,  a  Gothic  chief  who  had  been 
ravaging  Italy  and  who  brought  his  bride  rich  gifts  from 
the  spoils  of  her  people.  Placidia  afterward  returned 
to  Rome,  where  as  regent  for  her  young  son  Valentinian 
III  she  ruled  the  Western  branch  of  the  empire  many  years. 
Meantime  barbarians  were  seizing  provinces  and  Rome 
was  growing  weaker.  Not  long  after  the  death  of  Valen- 
tinian III,  Ricimer,  an  able,  scheming  German,  gained 
control  of  the  government;  and  while  he  kept  the  power 
in  his  own  hands,  he  made  and  unmade  emperors  at 
pleasure.  He  called  himself  simply  patrician, —a  word 
Constantine  the  Great  had  been  first  to  use  as  a  lifelong 
title  of  high  official  rank.  In  Ricimer's  case  it  meant  a 
man  who  was  at  once  commander  of  the  army  and  chief 
minister  of  his  sovereign.  Three  years  after  the  death 
of  the  tyrant  Ricimer,  Orestes,  an  Illyrian,  became  patri- 
cian of  Italy.  Refusing  the  imperial  title  for  himself,  he 
permitted  the  soldiers  to  confer  it  on  his  young  son  Rom- 
ulus, whom  they  now  called  Augustulus  —  "little  emperor." 
The  boy  ruled  but  a  few  months,  however,  when  Odoacer, 
elected  "king  "by    the   Germans  of    the  army,   deposed 

him  into  exile;  and  when  he  returned  to  continue  his  denunciation 
of  her  vices,  she  again  caused  his  banishment,  this  time  to  a  desolate 
place  on  Mount  Taurus.  Some  years  after  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  exile,  the  authorities  of  the  Church,  to  atone  for  their  mistreatment 
of  the  great  preacher,  brought  his  bones  to  Constantinople  and  canon- 
ized him  as  a  saint.  His  sermons,  still  preserved,  show  a  brilliant  flow 
of  language  and  a  fervid  zeal  for  religion  and  pure  morals. 


The  Aryans  293 

him,  and  compelled  the  Senate  to  send  the  purple,   with 
other  imperial  ornaments,  to  Constantinople,  in  token  of 
the  reunion  of  the  empire  under  one  head.     As  governor  • 
of   Italy  subject  in   name  to  the  sole  remaining  emperor, 
Odoacer  contented  himself  with  the  title  of  patrician. 

The  date  of  the  deposition  of   Romulus  —  476  a.i>. —   End  of  the 
better  perhaps  than  any  other   marks  the  "fall"    of    the   ^stt-b  a  n 
empire  in   the   West  and  the    transition  from  ancient  to   Oman,£«ro- 
mediseval  history.     For  although  the  idea  of  the   empire   Pean  History, 

•  en.  1. 

and  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  ruler  in  Constantinople 
survived,  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  Germans  henceforth 
controlled  all  the  West,  and  were  working  out  in  their 
own  way  the  destiny  of  Europe.  In  turning  from  the 
Romans  to  the  Germans,  we  pass  from  ancient  to  medi- 
aeval history. 

The  Germans,  with  the  Greeks,  the  Italians,  the  Celts, 
and  the  Slavs,  belong  to  the  European  branch  or  group  of 
races   of   Aryan   speech.      From    the    early  Aryan   home,    The  Aryans. 

P      T 

probably  north  of  the  Black  and  Caspian  seas,  those  who 
were    to    give    the    mother-tongue    to    Greece   and    Italy 
had  migrated  to   the   peninsulas   in   which  we   find  them 
at  the  dawn  of  history.     There  they  settled,  built  cities, 
and  became  civilized.     The  other  races  just  named  con- 
tinued to  wander  about  more  or  less,  and  long  remained 
barbarian.     They  were  naturally  as  capable  as  the  Italians, 
or  possibly  even  as  the  Greeks;  but  in  their  home  in  cen- 
tral Europe  they  had  fewer  means  of  learning  the  customs 
and  the  arts  of  settled  life.    The  Celts  moved  westward  and 
occupied  chiefly  Gaul,  Britain,  and  a  part  of  Spain,  where    pP.  126, 177, 
in  time,  as  we  have  seen,  they  were  conquered  and  civil-    l86>  2- 
ized  by  the  Romans.     After  the  Celts  came  the  Germans,    The  Germans, 
who  were  to  give  the  Romans  much  trouble.     The  Ger-    Germa/UJ 
mania   of   Tacitus,    composed  about   100  a.d.,    describes 


294 


Barbarian  Invasions 


P.  256.  their  life  at  that  early  time,  before  they  came  under  the 

influence  of  Christianity  and  of  Rome. 

The  country       Travelling  through  their  country  in  the  age  of  Tacitus, 

one  would   find  no  vineyards  or   orchards,    no   cities   or 
people.  3 

Tacitus,  Ger-   pleasant  country  houses,  but  here  and  there  in  the  midst 

mama,  15  f.      of  swampS  an{}  forests  one  would  see  groups  of  miserable 

hovels,  some  herds  of  stunted  cattle,  and  a  few  patches  of 

cultivated  ground.      In  peace  the  warriors  sleep  and  eat, 

drink  and  game,  while  the  women,  old  men,  and  slaves  do 


A  German  Village 


Caesar,  Gal- 
lic Wars,  vi. 
21 ;  Tacitus, 
Germania, 

.17- 

Morals  and 
religion. 
1  i<  itus,  Ger- 
mania, 18. 


all  the  work.  The  children  are  naked;  the  men  and 
women  alike  cover  the  body  with  a  skin  or  coarse  cloth, 
leaving  the  limbs  bare;  only  in  the  richer  class  men  wear 
trousers  and  women  linen. 

Other  features  of  their  life  are  far  more  attractive.  They 
possess  many  of  the  virtues  which  the  Romans  have  lost. 
The  morals  of  marriage  and  of  the  family  are  pure;  they 
respect  women  more  than  the  Greeks  or  the  Romans  ever 


The  Germans  295 

did;  and  their  sense  of  personal  dignity  will  not  permit 
them,  like  the  Spartans  and  the  early  Romans,  to  yield 
their  liberty  to  the  iron  discipline  of  the  state  —  to  make 
themselves  an  unthinking  part  of  a  social  machine.  It  is 
the  purity  of  the  German  family  and  the  free,  dignified 
spirit  of  the  German  man,  afterward  directed  by  Christian 
principles,  which  have  made  the  modern  world  better  than 
the  ancient.  As  yet  they  have  not  learned  of  Christ,  but 
worship  the  powers  of  nature,  — of  war,  peace,  and  joy,  of 
the  waters,  woods,  and  seasons,  of  various  living  things  and 
natural  forces.  Each  in  his  own  house  calls  upon  the 
gods,  and  priests  attend  to  the  public  worship  in  sacred 
groves;  for  they  have  neither  images  nor  temples. 

Some   tribes  follow   hereditary  kings,   others  temporary   Government, 
dukes  elected   to   lead   in  war  and   on  migrations.     The    raci,us- 

Germania, 

chief  men  of  a  tribe  meet  in  a  council  to  settle  questions  7  u-I3. 
of  public  interest.  Important  matters  they  refer  to  the 
gathering  of  all  the  warriors,  who  show  their  displeasure 
by  a  guttural  murmur  or  clash  their  weapons  in  token  of 
approval.  This  assembly  elects  chiefs,  tries  capital 
offences,  and  decides  other  important  matters.  It  some- 
times happens  that  after  voting  for  war,  the  host  proceeds  Army, 
forthwith  to  meet  the  enemy.     The  men  of  a  family  and   Tacltus-  Ger- 

mania,  14  ; 

the  families  of  a  clan  stand  side  by  side  in  the  line  of  Annals, ii.  14. 
battle,  while  each  chieftain  rides  in  the  midst  of  his 
mounted  companions,  who  are  pledged  to  loyal  service. 
The  troops  are  not  only  ill  organized  but  poorly  armed. 
Although  in  the  first  terrific  onset  their  huge  frames  may 
frighten  the  Romans,  these  fair,  blue-eyed  giants  lack 
endurance  and  discipline;  so  that  they  readily  yield  to 
fear,  hunger,  or  fatigue.  Their  life  and  institutions  are 
like  those  of  the  Greeks  in  the  time  of  Homer,  or  of  the   ,  '      L 

'  ford,  Greece, 

Italians  before  the   Samnite  wars.     As  soon,   however,  as   p.nff. 


296 


Barbarian  Ini  'as ions 


They 

threaten  the 
empire. 
Pp.  162,  185. 


P.  207  f. 


Sergeant, 
The  Franks. 


274. 


they  come  into  contact  with  the  Romans,  they  begin  to 
learn  from  them  more  refined  habits  and  to  desire  more 
settled  homes.  This  eagerness  for  homes  is  perhaps  their 
chief  motive  in  attacking  the  empire. 

We  have  seen  how  Gaius  Marius  destroyed  the  first  great 
horde  of  Germans  that  tried  to  enter  Italy,  and  how  Julius 
Cfesar  frustrated  a  second  attempt  at  invasion  led  by  Ario- 
vistus.     Under  Augustus  the  Romans  made  a  vain  effort  to 

subdue  them ;  but 
soon  learned  from 
the  overthrow  of 
Varus  that  the  ques- 
tion of  the  future 
was  to  be  how  they 
should  defend  them- 
selves against  these 
terrible  enemies. 
After  Augustus  the 
Germans  grew  more 
and  more  powerful, 
chiefly  by  uniting 
their  tribes  in  large 
federations.  Such 
a  union  was  that  of 
the  Franks,  who, 
after  Marcus  Aure- 
lius,     appeared     on 

(Mosaic  in  the  Church  of  Santa  Maria  in  Cosmedin,      [^q  lower  Rhine,  and 
Ravenna,  Fifth  Century,  a.d.) 

the  Alemanni  — 
"Men  of  All  Races"  — on  the  upper.  Farther  east  were 
the  Goths,  who  are  said  to  have  once  lived  in  Sweden. 
From  the  Baltic  to  the  Black  Sea  they  had  journeyed,  — 
great  swarms  of  gigantic  warriors,  with  their  women  and 


The  Baptism  of  Christ 

On  the   right  is   John  the    Baptist,   on  the  left  the 
River-god  Jordan,  around  are  the  Twelve  Apostles. 


The    Visigoths  297 

children,  and  their  two-wheeled  wagons.  Thereafter  they  270-275  a.d. 
kept  harassing  the  eastern  provinces  by  land  and  sea,  till  p.  274. 
Aurelian  gave  up  Dacia  to  them.  Those  who  now  settled 
in  this  province,  who  are  termed  West-Goths,  or  Visigoths, 
acquired  much  of  the  Roman  civilization,  and  accepted 
Arian  Christianity  from  Bishop  Ulfilas,  who  translated  the 
Bible  into  their  speech.  Fragments  of  this  work  still  exist, 
and  are  highly  prized  as  specimens  of  the  first  piece  of 
Germanic  literature. 

For  about  a  century   the   West-Goths   lived  quietly  in   TheVisi- 
Dacia  as  the  allies  of  the  Roman  people.     With  the  prog-   ^cia"1 
ress  of  settled  life  they  became  more  and  more  distinct   270-376  a. d. 
from  their  less  civilized  kinsmen,  the  East-Goths  —  Ostro- 
goths—  who  lived  north  of  the  Black  Sea,  between  Dacia 
and  the  Don  River.     Suddenly  this  peaceful  life  was  dis- 
turbed by  the  appearance  of   the  Huns,   a  dark,  dwarfish 
race  of   savages,   with  little   eyes  and    scarred,    beardless 
faces.     On  horseback  they  swept  the  country  like  a  tempest, 
plundering  and  destroying  whatever  they  found  and  killing 
even  the  women   and  the   children  without  pity.     Those 
of  their  enemies  whom  they  chose  to   spare  became  their 
slaves  or  subjects.     They  were  not  Aryans,  but  a  distinctly 
Asiatic  race,  usually  classed  with  the  Turanians.     Unlike   Hodgkin, 

the  Germans,  thev  had  no  wish  to  settle  in  the  conquered 

J  x  p.  242. 

lands,  but  were  content  with  roving  and  remained  savage. 
They  conquered  the  East-Goths,  and  overthrew  the  West- 
Gothic  king,  who  lived  in  Dacia.  Thereupon  two  hundred 
thousand  warriors  of  the  defeated  monarch,  with  their 
wives  and  children,  gathered  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Danube,  and  implored  the  Romans  to  let  them  cross  for 
safety  from  their  frightful  pursuers.  The  weak-minded 
Valens,  of  whom  we  have  already  heard,  granted  their  p.  291. 
petition  on  the  understanding  that  they  should  surrender 


298 


Barbarian  Invasions 


They  cross 
the  Danube, 
376  A.U. 
Hodgkin, 
Italy,  I.  i. 
p.  254. 


378  A.l». 


Tbeodosius, 
379-395  A.D. 
Duruv, 
Rome,  viii. 
p.  273  ff. 


Alaric, 
395  A.D. 
Bury,  Later 
Roman  Em- 
pire, p.  107  ff. 


their  arms  and  give  their  children  as  hostages.  These  were 
needless,  foolish  conditions;  for  with  their  arms,  they 
would,  in  grateful  loyalty,  have  helped  him  defend  the 
empire. 

"All  day  and  night,  for  many  days  and  nights,  the 
Roman  ships  of  war  were  crossing  and  recrossing  the 
stream,  conveying  to  the  Mcesian  shore  a  multitude  which 
they  tried  in  vain  to  number."  But  while  the  Roman 
officers  in  charge  of  this  work  were  intent  upon  robbing 
the  Goths  and  kidnapping  the  most  beautiful  of  their 
women,  the  warriors  retained  their  arms,  and  passed  into 
the  empire,  burning  with  rage  at  the  insults  and  the  wrongs 
they  suffered  from  the  depraved  government  of  Constanti- 
nople. When  famine  and  further  mistreatment  goaded 
them  to  rebellion,  they  spread  murder  and  savage  desola- 
tion over  Thrace  and  Macedonia.  Valens  rashly  assailed 
them  at  Hadrianople,  and  perished  with  two-thirds  of  his 
men.  This  was  a  grave  misfortune,  for  it  taught  the 
invading  barbarians  that  they  might  defeat  Romans  and 
slay  emperors  in  open  fight.  For  some  time  after  the 
battle  the  Goths  roamed  about  at  pleasure,  but  could  not 
take  the  fortified  cities.  From  Theodosius,  the  successor 
of  Valens,  they  received  homes  in  Thrace,  while  those 
Ostrogoths  who  had  followed  them  into  the  empire  were 
settled  in  Phrygia.  The  barbarians  became  the  allies  of 
the  Romans,  and  Theodosius  remained  their  firm  friend. 

Soon  after  his  death,  the  Visigoths,  needing  more  land 
and  wealth,  hoisted  one  of  the  most  promising  of  their 
young  nobles,  named  Alaric,  upon  a  shield,  as  was  their 
<  ustom  in  electing  a  chieftain,  and  under  his  leadership, 
they  ravaged  Greece  till  the  minister  of  Arcadius,  now 
emperor  of  the  East,  bought  the  friendship  of  Alaric  by 
m. iking  him  governor  of  Illyricum.     This  gave  the  barba- 


Stilicho  and 


StilicJio  and  Alaric  299 

rian  chief  official  means  of  supplying  his  men  with  good 
arms;  so  that  in  a  few  years  he  was  ready  for  a  more 
important  undertaking,  —  the  invasion  of  Italy.  He  had 
some  idea  of  the  value  of  civilization;  and  apparently  it 
was  his  wish  to  find  the  best  country  in  which  to  settle  his 
followers  and  organize  a  kingdom.  We  are  to  think  of 
him,  accordingly,  not  as  a  mere  destroyer,  but  as  the 
founder  of  the  first  Germanic  state  which  was  to  be  estab- 
lished within  the  limits  of  the  empire. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  not  only  the  common  sol- 

J  Alanc. 

diers  but  even  the  best  generals  and  ministers  of  the 
empire  were  now  Germans.  Such  was  Stilicho,  a  fair  and 
stately  Vandal,  who  had  married  a  niece  of  Theodosius, 
and  was  at  this  time  guardian  and  chief  general  of  the 
worthless  Honorius,  emperor  in  the  West.  Stilicho  and  P.  291. 
Alaric  were  well  matched.  Both  were  born  leaders  of 
men;  both  were  brave  and  energetic,  with  equal  genius 
for  war.  But  Stilicho  had  the  advantage  of  Roman  organ- 
ization. Hastily  gathering  troops  from  Britain,  from 
Gaul,  from  various  parts  in  the  West,   he  defeated  Alaric   Batlles  of 

Pollentia  and 

twice  in  northern  Italy,  and  compelled  him  to  return  to   Verona,  402, 

Illyricum.     This  double  victory  would  have  honored  the  403  a.d. 

name  of  Marius;  and  perhaps  the  victor  deemed  himself 

and  his  son  more  worthy  of  the  throne  than  the  puppet 

king  who  fed  his  chickens  in  Ravenna,   his  new  capital. 

At  all  events,    Stilicho   had  a  jealous  enemy  who  never 

ceased  whispering  in  the  ears  of  Honorius  his  tale,  true  or 

false,  of   the  Vandal's  plotting.     The  miserable  emperor 

at  length  gave  way,  and  ordered  the  death  of  the  only  man 

who  was  able  to  save  the  empire.     The  Roman  legionaries  408  a-1'- 

followed  the   example  of  their  master  by  murdering  the 

wives  and  the  children  of  the  Germans  in  the  army.     The 

enraged   barbarians,    thirty  thousand    strong,   went  off   to 


3oo 


Barbarian  Ii/z >aswns 


Siege  and 
sack  of  Rome. 


408  a.h. 

Gibbon, 
ch.  xxxi. 


410  A.l). 


Effect  of  this 
event. 


the  camp  of  Alaric,  and  besought  him  to  take  vengeance 
by  invading  Italy. 

As  the  Gothic  king  knew  well  that  Stilicho's  death  left 
the  empire  defenceless,  he  crossed  the  Alps  and  marched 
straight  for  Rome.  For  the  first  time  since  the  days  of 
Camillas  the  eternal  city  was  besieged  by  barbarians. 
Afflicted  with  famine  and  pestilence,  the  degenerate  citi- 
zens bought  Alaric  off  by  the  payment  of  an  enormous  ran- 
som. In  the  following  year  he  appeared  again  before  the 
walls,  this  time  demanding  whole  provinces  lor  the  settle- 
ment of  his  men.  He  did  not  himself  aspire  to  the  impe- 
rial purple, — -that  dress  was  still  too  majestic  for  him  to 
wear;  but  he  appointed  an  emperor  of  his  own  to  displace 
the  weakling  at  Ravenna.  For  himself,  he  wished  merely 
to  be  an  ally  and  a  supporter  of  the  throne.  But  his 
nominee  proved  to  be  an  imbecile,  who  could  do  nothing 
for  him.  Accordingly  his  fierce  Goths  besieged  Rome  a 
third  time,  burst  in  by  surprise,  and  sacked  the  city,  which 
for  eight  hundred  years  had  seen  no  enemy  in  her  streets. 
They  killed  many  citizens  and  plundered  the  dwellings; 
but  as  Christians  they  spared  the  churches  and  all  who 
took  refuge   in  them. 

The  sack  of  Rome  astonished  mankind;  for  all  had  sup- 
posed the  city  inviolable,  and  in  her  fall  they  thought  they 
saw  the  ruin  of  the  law  and  order  of  the  world.  It  dis- 
couraged the  Christians  throughout  the  empire,  that  so 
many  holy  shrines,  so  godly  a  city,  should  be  profaned  by 
those  whom  they  misconceived  as  pagans.  To  console 
them,  St.  Augustine1  wrote  his  City  of  God,  to  prove  that 


1  St.  Augustine,  the  most  famous  of  the  Christian  Fathers,  was  born 
in  Africa  in  354  A.l).  After  many  years  of  wayward  life  he  joined  the 
heretical  sect  of  Manichseans,  and  somewhat  later  accepted  the  ortho- 
dox Christian  faith.    Appointed  bishop  of  Hippo,  a  city  near  Carthage, 


Death  of  Alaric 


SOI 


the  community  of  the  Most  High  would  lust  forever,  even 
though  the  greatest  city  of  earth  had  fallen. 

As  the  Goths  did  not  like  to  live  in  cities,  they  soon  left   Death  of 
Rome,  and  wandered  southward  with  their  booty.     They 
intended  to  cross  to  Africa;  but  while  they  were  making 
ready  for  this,   Alaric  died  —  apparently  from   the   fever- 


The  Good  Shepherd 

(Mosaic  in  the  Mausoleum  of  Galla  Placidia,  Ravenna,  Fifth  Century  a.d.) 

laden  climate  of  southern  Italy.  To  prepare  a  safe  resting- 
place  for  the  deceased  king,  his  followers  compelled  some 
Italian  captives  to  turn  the  Busento  from  its  course  and  to 
dig  a  grave  in  the  empty  river-bed;   then  when  the  burial 

he  devoted  the  rest  of  his  life  to  speaking  and  writing  in  defence  of 
orthodox  Christianity  against  both  heresy  and  paganism.  By  means 
of  his  voluminous  works  on  theology  he  did  much  toward  reducing  the 
teachings  of  Christians  to  a  consistent  philosophic  system.  He  died 
in  Hippo  in  the  seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age,  while  the  Vandals  were 
besieging  that  city;    cf.  p.  257. 


302 


Barbarian  Invasions 


Founding  of 
the  Visi- 
gothic  king- 
dom. 

Bury,  Later 
Roman 
Umpire, 
i.  p.  137  ff. 


The  Vandals. 
1  [odgkin, 
Italy, 

11.  p.  209  II'. 

167-181  A.I'. 


rites  were  over,  and  the  river  again  flowed  in  its  natural 
channel,  they  killed  the  prisoners  who  had  done  the  work, 
that  no  native  might  discover  their  secret,  so  as  to  disturb 
the  remains  of  their  mighty  chieftain.  Thus  Alaric,  the 
founder  of  the  first  Gothic  state,  died,  like  Moses,  before 
he  could  bring  his  people  to  their  destined  home. 

His  brother-in-law,  Ataulf,  succeeded  him.  This  man 
had  once  wished  to  blot  the  Romans  out  of  existence,  and 
to  substitute  the  Goths  in  their  place;  but  as  he  saw  his 
followers  slow  in  adapting  themselves  to  settled  life,  he 
recognized  the  value  of  Rome  for  order  and  civilization. 
Accordingly  he  became  her  champion;  and  taking  with 
him  the  emperor's  sister,  whom  he  hoped  to  make  his 
bride,  he  led  his  nation  from  Italy  to  Gaul  and  Spain. 
These  countries  had  already  been  plundered  by  Vandals, 
Sueves, —whose  name  survives  in  the  modern  Swabia, — 
and  Alans,  whom  the  Goths  had  to  subdue  in  order  to 
found  their  new  state.  Here  their  wanderings  ended.  The 
country  they  occupied  extended  from  the  Loire  in  Gaul 
over  most  of  Spain,  with  Toulouse  for  its  capital.  Their 
state  lasted  unimpaired  till  the  Franks  seized  the  Gallic 
part  of  it,  about  500  a.d.  In  Spain  they  continued  inde- 
pendent for  two  centuries  longer,  when  the  Saracens  swept 
over  them  and  destroyed  their  kingdom. 

The  Visigoths  are  especially  interesting  as  the  "pioneers 
of  the  German  invasion;"  and  for  that  reason  we  have 
dwelt  at  some  length  on  their  wanderings  and  on  their 
relations  with  Rome.  The  movements  of  the  other 
barbarian  races  we  shall  follow  more  rapidly. 

We  first  hear  of  the  Vandals  in  the  region  of  the  Oder. 

Thence  they  moved  southward,  and  with  the  Marcomanni, 

fought   against    Marcus    Aurelius.     When   later   they  were 

worsted  in  battle  by  the  Goths,  and  besought  Constantino 


The  I  'andals 


jvj 


the  Great  for  a  home  and  protection,  he  settled  them  in   About  335 
Pannonia.      Here  under    the   influence  of    Rome    and    of 
Christianity  in    its    Arian    form,   they,   like   the  Goths  in 
Dacia,   made  some   progress  in  orderly  life.      But   in   the 
time  of  Stilicho  and  Alaric  they  abandoned   their  settle-   406  A.n. 
ments    and   wandered    northwestward    toward    the    Rhine, 
joining  to  themselves  on  the  way  the  Germanic  Sueves  and 
the  Alans,  who  are  usually  classed  with  the  Turanians.     As 
Stilicho  had  withdrawn  the  garrisons  from  the  Rhine,  to    P.  299. 
use  against  Alaric,  they  crossed  to  Gaul  and  ravaged  their 
way   into  Spain.     Here,   as  we    have  seen,   the  Visigoths 
under   Ataulf    found    them.      The    Sueves    were    gradually 
pressed   by  the  newcomers    into    the  northwestern  corner 
of  the  peninsula,  where  they  established  a  small  kingdom. 
The  other  two  races  retired  southward. 

Thus  far  the  Vandals  had  been  driven  about  from  place   Gaiseric 
to  place, — their  history  had  been  an  unbroken  record  of    (Gensenc)- 

r  '  .  ■>  428  A.D. 

defeats.      Now,    however,    they  found  their  hero-king  in   Hodgkin, 
Gaiseric,  under  whom  they,  too,  were  to  appear  as  a  con-    Italy> 

„    .        .        .  .  .  ii-  P-  228  f. 

quering    nation.      Gaiseric    is    an    interesting    figure.      In 

contrast  with  the  majestic  type  of  the  Germanic  leader,  he 

was  short  and   limping.     But  he  had  a  cunning,  nimble 

mind,  which  always  hit  upon  the  right  expedient.     Bold, 

grasping,  and  persistent,  he  never  lost  sight  of  his  ends  or 

of  the  intricate  means  which  led  to  them.     In  addition  to 

his  desire  to  find  lands  for  his  men  and  a  kingdom   for 

himself,    he  sought  to   humble   Rome,   and    as   an   Arian 

Christian,  to  destroy  the  orthodox  church. 

The  Vandal   chief   found   his   opportunity   in  a  quarrel   He  invades 

between   two   Roman  officers,    Aetius  and   Boniface.      At      "ca' 

'  428  A.D. 

this  time  Galla  Placidia  was  regent  of  the  West.  How- 
ever wise  in  intrusting  her  legions  to  the  able  generals 
just  mentioned,  she  foolishly  allowed  Aetius  to  work  upon 


304 


Barbarian  Invasions 


Cf.  p.  2S0.  her  feelings  against  his  rival,  Count  Boniface,  then  com- 
mander in  Africa.  Ordered  to  Rome  on  a  groundless 
suspicion  of  treason,  the  count  turned  for  revenge  to  the 
Vandals,  and  invited  them  to  invade  his  provinces.  The 
barbarians  accepted  the  offer;  accordingly,  as  soon  as 
Gaiseric  became  chief,  he  crossed  to  Africa  with  the  rem- 


The  Mausoleum  of  Galla  Placidia,  Ravknna 

(Originally  the  Church  of  S.  Nazario  e  Celso,  built  by  Placidia  about  440;  it  con- 
tains her  sarcophagus  and  that  of  Honorius.) 


nant  of  his  nation,  numbering  perhaps  eighty  thousand 
persons,  including  women  and  children.  In  vain  the 
penitent  Boniface  tried  to  send  him  back;  Gaiseric  was 
not  the  man  to  be  swayed  by  Roman  counts.  To  him 
Africa  was  a  tempting  prize.  Its  large,  fertile  estates 
worked  by  serfs  had  long  supplied  Rome  with  grain.  The 
richest  of  its  many  cities  was  "happy  Carthage,"  prosper- 


Sack  of  Rome  305 

ous  now  as  before  the  Punic  Wars.  The  Vandals  desolated 
the  fields  and  took  the  fortified  places  by  siege  or  treachery. 
Meantime  a  treaty  with  Rome  recognized  their  kingdom  in  43s  A-D- 
Africa,  subject  only  to  an  annual  tribute.  How  weak  must 
have  been  the  Roman  army  when  so  few  invading  bar- 
barians could  seize  the  fairest  provinces  of  the  empire ! 

But  Gaiseric's  followers  were  not  so  peaceful  as  those  of  vandalism. 
Alaric.  No  sooner  had  they  gained  the  seaports  than  they 
built  ships  and  took  to  piracy.  Thus  they  harassed  Italy 
and  all  the  neighboring  shores.  "Whither  shall  we  sail?" 
the  pilot  is  said  to  have  asked  his  chief  at  the  beginning 
of  one  of  these  expeditions.  "To  the  dwellings  of  those 
with  whom  God  is  angry,"  Gaiseric  replied.  From  their 
piracy,  but  more  perhaps  from  their  pillage  of  the  orthodox 
churches,  wherever  they  found  them,  the  word  Vandal- 
ism, derived  from  the  name  of  their  race,  has  come  to 
signify  the  aimless,  wanton  destruction  of  property. 

Deprived  of  her  food  supply  by  these  pirates,  Rome  suf-   The  vandals 
fered  from  famine,  and  was  soon  to  see  the  destroyers  in  455  AD 
her  own  streets.     The  emperor  at  this  time  was  a  certain 
Maximus,   who   had  usurped  the   throne   and   had    forced   Gibbon, 

en.  xxxvi. 

Eudoxia,  the  widow  of  his  predecessor,1  to  become  his 
wife.  She  then  requested  Gaiseric  to  avenge  her  wrong 
by  plundering  Rome.  The  Vandals  gladly  accepted  the 
invitation.  For  a  fortnight  they  pillaged  the  city  in  a 
thoroughly. business-like  way,  and  stored  in  their  vessels 
all  the  movable  property  they  considered  of  sufficient 
value.  Their  leader,  however,  had  promised  the  great 
Leo,  then  bishop  of  Rome,  to  refrain  from  bloodshed  and 
from  burning  the  houses;  and  he  kept  his  word.  Besides 
their  shiploads  of  booty,  the  Vandals  carried  away  many 
captives  into  servitude.      The  Roman  and   the  barbarian 

1  Valentinian  III. 


306 


Barbarian  Invasions 


The  end  of 
their  king- 
dom. 
477  A. l). 
P.  315. 
534  A.D. 

The  Burgun- 
dians. 
Emerton, 
Middle  Ages, 

P-  39  f- 

Cf.  Hodgkin, 

Italy, 

ii.  p.  363. 


Aetius  and 
Theodoric. 


P.  308. 


had  exchanged  roles:  the  conquerors  were  becoming  the 
slaves,  and  barbarians  from  the  city  of  Hannibal  at  last 
avenged  the  destruction  of  Carthage. 

For  many  years  Gaiseric  ruled  successfully,  and  extended 
his  lordship  over  the  neighboring  islands.  Though  at  his 
death  the  glory  of  his  kingdom  passed  away,  it  maintained 
its  independence  for  more  than  a  half  century  longer,  when 
it  was  annexed  by  the  Eastern  branch  of  the  empire. 

Meantime  the  Burgundians,  another  Germanic  race  from 
the  country  about  the  Baltic,  made  their  way  into  Gaul, 
where  they  founded  a  kingdom  in  the  valley  of  the  Rhone 
and  Saone  rivers.  Sidonius,  a  writer  of  the  fifth  century 
a.d.,  speaks  of  the  "gormandizing  sons  of  Burgundy  who 
smear  their  yellow  hair  with  rancid  butter."  Like  other 
Germans,  these  greasy  giants  had  a  taste  for  poetry;  from 
an  earlier  Norse  myth,  their  bards  elaborated  the  Nibelung- 
enlied,  an  epic  song  of  their  national  heroes.  Their  laws, 
too,  are  of  interest  for  the  light  they  throw  on  the  relations 
between  the  barbarian  invaders  and  the  Romans.  Though 
their  kingdom  soon  fell  under  the  Franks,  the  name  has 
survived  in  the  modern  Burgundy. 

The  Franks  had  crossed  the  Rhine  and  had  occupied  a 
wide  territory  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  extending 
from  Mainz  to  the  sea.  Thus  by  the  middle  of  the 
fifth  century  a.d.  the  Germans  had  come  to  possess  much 
of  the  Western  empire,  —Africa,  Spain,  and  parts  of  Gaul. 
Nominally  dependent  on  the  emperor,  their  kingdoms 
were  virtually  free.  Central  Gaul  was  still  held  for  Rome 
by  an  able  governor,  Aetius.  He  and  Theodoric,  king  of 
the  West-Goths,  were  enemies,  as  each  tried  to  extend  his 
territory  at  the  expense  of  the  other.  But  we  shall  now 
see  them  bring  the  Germans  and  the  Romans  into  one  army 
to  repel  the  great  enemy  of  civilization,  — Attila  the  Hun. 


The  Huns  307 

Since  their  victory  over  the  Cloths,  the  Huns  had  grown   The  Huns, 
formidable.      It   is  said   that   Attila,  their   king,  from   his   D        ,  J 

0  Bury,  Later 

log-cabin  capital  in  Hungary  commanded  the  barbarians   Roman 

of  Europe  and  of  Asia,  and  threatened  Persia  as  well  as   E)»Pire- 

1  i.  p.  161  ft. 

the  Roman  Empire.     "We  see  him  short  of  stature,  with   Hod„kjn 

the  small,  bead-like  eyes,  and  snub  nose  and  swarthy  skin   Italy,  ii. p.  41. 

of   his  Tartar  ancestors,  yet  with  a  haughty  step,  and  a 

fierce   way  of   darting  his  glances   hither   and  thither,    as 

though  he  felt  himself  lord  of   all,   and  were   perpetually 

asking  of  the  bystanders,  'Who  is  he  that  shall  deliver  you 

out  of  my  hand?  '  " 

He  attracted  to  himself  men  of  many  races,   Germans,    The  battle  of 

Slavs,  and  even  Greeks,  as  well  as  his  Turanian  kinsmen.    ,.T  .     ' 

45 l  A-u- 

After  desolating  the  provinces  of  the  East  and  terrorizing 
Constantinople,  he  brought  the  storm  of  his  wrath  upon 
Gaul.  Wasted  fields  and  ruined  cities  marked  his  path. 
At  this  trying  time,  the  union  of  Germans  and  Romans  in 
defence  of  their  common  country  was  a  happy  omen  for 
the  future  of  Europe.  Theodoric  and  Aetius  met  Attila  at 
some  distance  from  Chalons,  in  one  of  the  fiercest  con- 
flicts known  to  history.  The  slaughter  was  vast.  We  are 
even  told  that  the  blood  from  the  thousands  of  wounds 
swelled  to  a  torrent  the  brook  which  flowed  through  the 
field  of  battle.  Theodoric  fell,  but  the  Hun  was  routed. 
Had  he  gained  the  day,  it  might  have  taken  years,  possibly 
centuries,  to* redeem  Europe  from  the  desolation  and  the 
barbarism  which  he,  as  victor,  would  have  spread  over  the 
continent.     Such  was  the  importance  of  this  battle.1 

Though  Attila  withdrew  from   Gaul,   the  next  year  he   Attila  in 
appeared  in  Italy  on  his  errand  of  destruction.     He  visited 


452  A.D. 


1  Three  years  afterward  Valentinian  III,  jealous  of  the  fame  of 
Aetius,  invited  the  great  commander  into  the  imperial  palace,  and 
killed  him  there  with  his  own  hand;    Ilodgkin,  Italy,  ii.  p.  195  ff. 


;o8 


Barbarian  Invasions 


Gibbon, 
ch.  xxxv. 


Why  the 
empire  in  the 
West  "fell." 

Gibbon,  ch. 
xxxvi ;  Hodg- 
kin,  Italy,  ii. 

p-  532  ff; 

Seeley, 
Roman 
Imperialism, 
Lect.  ii. 


P.  292. 


P.  306. 


Aquileia  with  fire  and  sword.  The  miserable  remnant  of 
the  population,  joined  by  refugees  from  other  ruined 
towns,  fled  to  a  cluster  of  islands  along  the  Adriatic  shore. 
In  time  their  wretched  settlement  became  the  famous  city 
of  Venice,  which  was  to  help  defend  Europe  against  Attila's 
kinsmen,  the  Turks.  As  the  Huns  threatened  Rome, 
Bishop  Leo  came  to  their  chief,  and  persuaded  him  to 
spare  the  city.1  Such  at  least  is  the  story;  and  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  see  what  else  induced  the  savage  to  turn  back  without 
entering  Rome.  Attila  died  soon  after  his  departure,  and 
with  his  death  the  Hunnish  empire  broke  into  pieces. 

We  are  now  in  a  position  to  understand  why  the  Western 
branch  of  the  empire  "fell."  Before  the  year  476  a.i>., 
the  conventional  date  of  this  event,  most  of  the  provinces 
had  come  into  the  hands  of  the  barbarians,  so  that  little 
more  than  Italy  was  left  under  the  direct  rule  of  the 
emperor.  The  native  Italians  no  longer  had  the  courage 
or  the  material  resources  necessary  for  defending  their 
country.  Further,  most  of  the  emperors  of  the  fifth  cen- 
tury a.d.  were  weaklings,  like  Honorius,  little  more  than 
puppets  of  their  German  commander-in-chief,  who  made 
and  deposed  them  at  pleasure.  Thence  it  came  about  that 
the  title  "patrician,"  which  the  chief  general  bore,  carried 
more  weight  with  the  foreign  soldiers  in  the  service  than 
even  that  of  emperor.  Under  these  circumstances  the  cen- 
tral government  continued  as  long  as  it  did,  only  because 
the  Germanic  kings  within  the  empire  needed  it  as  a  sup- 
port to  their  authority.  Even  thus,  however,  it  could  not 
survive.  Although  no  barbarian  people  had  yet,  as  a  body, 
made  their  permanent  home  in  Italy,  a  continual  stream 
of  foreigners  poured  in  to  recruit  the  army.     Among  these 


1  This  was  three  years  before  Gaiseric's  plunder  of  Rome, 
the  same  Leo  tried  to  prevent,  but  could  only  soften. 


•which 


The  "Fall"  309 

soldiers  of  fortune  was  Odoacer,  of  whom  we  have  already  P.  292. 
heard.  He  was  a  bold,  clever  man,  whom  the  foreign 
troops  respected.  They  clamored  for  a  third  of  the  land  in 
Italy;  and  when  the  father  of  the  young  emperor  Romulus 
refused  their  demand,  they  hoisted  Odoacer  on  their  shield, 
thus  making  him  their  king. 

How  he  then  brought  the  line  of  Western  emperors  to  a 
formal  close  has  been  explained.  In  fact  their  power  had 
already  declined  so  completely  that  no  one  living  at  the 
time  saw  in  the  event  of  476  a.d.  anything  worthy  of  notice. 
No  one  supposed  that  any  part  of  the  empire  had  fallen. 
Indeed,  the  continuance  of  the  emperors  in  the  East  satis- 
fied in  some  degree  a  want  which  Rome  had  left  in  the 
hearts  of  the  barbarians  as  well  as  of  her  native  citizens,  — 
a  longing  for  a  central  power  which,  in  the  midst  of  chaos, 
should  stand  for  law  and  order  throughout  the  world.  Ac- 
cordingly most  men  even  in  the  West,  whatever  their  race 
or  condition,  thought  of  the  Eastern  emperor  as  their  own. 
It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  the  term  "fall"  is  somewhat 
misleading.  In  theory,  the  event  of  the  year  was  the  re- 
union of  the  East  and  West  under  one  head;  at  the  same  476  a.d. 
time  it  pointed  to  an  accomplished  fact,  — the  dissolution    IlT1Portance 

1  *  of  the  date. 

of  the  empire  in  the  West. 

The  happenings  of  476  a.d.  had  this  important  result, 
that  as  Italy  ceased  to  be  the  home  of  emperors,  the  bishop 
of  Rome  became  the  most  respected  and  most  influential 
person  in  the  West,  —  the  pope  succeeded  to  the  throne  of 
the  deposed  Augustus. 

Reading 

Tacitus,  Ger mania  (for  the  life  and  institutions  of  the  Germans)  ; 
Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  chs.  xviii-xxxviii  ; 
Duruy,  History  of  Rome,   VIII.   chs.    cv-cix;    History  of  the  Middle 


310  Barbarian  Invasions 

Ages,  bk.  I.  chs.  i,  ii  ;  Hodgkin,  Italy  and  her  Invaders,  i,  ii  ;  Bury, 
History  of  the  Later  Roman  Empire,  i.  pp.  1-280  ;  Curteis,  History 
of  the  Roman  Empire,  chs.  vi-ix  ;  Emerton,  Introduction  to  the  Mid- 
dle Ages,  chs.  i-vi  (the  best  brief  history)  ;  Church,  Beginnings  of  the 
Middle  Ages,  pp.  1-30  ;  Adams,  Civilization  during  the  Middle  Ages, 
chs.  i-iv  ;  Thatcher  and  Schwill,  Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages,  chs.  i-iii  ; 
Henderson,  History  of  Germany  in  the  Middle  Ages,  chs.  i,  ii  ;  llryce, 
Holy  Roman  Empire,  chs.  ii,  iii  ;  Freeman,  Chief  Periods  of  European 
History,  lect.  iii  :  Rome  and  the  New  Nations  ;  Dill,  Roman  Society 
in  the  Last  Century  of  the  Western  Empire  (especially  bk.  Ill,  but 
valuable  throughout)  ;  Montesquieu,  Grandeur  and  Decadence  of  the 
Romans,  ch.  xix  ;  Seeley,  Roman  Imperialism,  lect.  ii;  Fowler,  City- 
State,  ch.  xi  ;  Finlay,  History  of  Greece,  I.  ch.  ii  ;  Bradley,  Goths 
(nations)  ;  Gardner,  Julian  (heroes)  ;  C'utts,  St.  Augustine;  Newman, 
Arians  of  the  Fourth  Century  ;  Lanciani,  Pagan  and  Christian  Rome. 


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(Ravenna.) 


CHAPTER   XIV 


THE     NEW     GERMAN    STATES     AND     THE     EMPIRE 

CHARLEMAGNE 

(476-800  A.D.) 


OE 


At  the  time  when  the  sceptre  fell  from  the  hands  of  the   The  condition 

of  Europe  in 
boy-emperOr,  Romulus  "Augustulus,"  the  entire  West  was   476A.d. 

still  in  chaos.      In  Gaul  and  Spain  the  Burgundians,  and 

more  especially  the  Visigoths,  were  making  some  progress    Pp-  3°2.  3°6- 

,  ,     ,    ...  ,         ,      .  r.-,,       ,T        ,    ,       Oman,  Euro- 

toward  settled  life  and  orderly  government.      the  vandals    peanHistory 
of  Africa,  remaining  barbarous,  persecuted  and  oppressed   ch.  i. 

their  Roman  subjects,  while  in  northern  Gaul  the  Franks     •3°5  ■ 

1  p.  290,  3C0, 

were  still  pagan,  little  touched  by  the  civilization  of  Rome.    32I. 
The   Angles   and   the   Saxons,   who  were  already  invading 

3" 


312 


The  New  German   States 


p.  321. 


Pp.  293, 309. 


The  Ostro- 
goths. 
P.  297. 

454  A.D. 

Hodgkin, 
Italy,  iii. 


Theodoric  the 
Great, 
476-526. 
Gibbon, 
ch.  xxxix. 


Britain,  and  of  whom  we  have  yet  to  hear,  were  not  only 
pagans,  but  wholly  ignorant  of  Roman  ways  of  life.  Italy, 
as  we  have  seen,  continued  Roman  till  Odoacer  gave  a 
third  of  her  land  to  his  German  soldiers.1  Under  these 
circumstances,  it  is  easy  to  understand  why  all  the  West 
was  in  confusion  and  conflict, — each  invading  race 
against  the  other,  German  against  Roman,  pagan  against 
Christian,  and  Arian  against  Catholic.  In  this  chapter  we 
shall  see  how  chaos  gradually  gave  way  to  order,  and  how 
the  various  conflicting  forces  finally  harmonized  in  one 
civilization,  one  religion,  and  one  empire. 

The  first  of  the  great  forces  which  helped  bring  about 
this  change  was  the  East-Gothic  nation.  When  Attila 
died,  it  threw  off  the  Hunnish  yoke,  and  settled  in 
Moesia  as  an  ally  of  the  emperor  at  Constantinople.  One 
reason  why  the  empire  lasted  longer  in  the  East  than  in 
the  West  is  to  be  found  in  the  cleverness  of  the  Eastern 
sovereigns  in  dealing  with  the  barbarians,  —  in  purchasing 
their  friendship  or  in  playing  off  one  tribe,  or  one  chief, 
against  another.  But  with  the  Ostrogoths  they  had  much 
trouble,  which  ended  in  the  migration  of  that  race  to 
Italy. 

The  leader  of  the  movement  was  Theodoric,  known  as 
the  Great,  the  ablest  and  most  statesmanlike  of  all  the  Ger- 

He  brought 


man  chieftains  whom  we  have  thus  far  met. 


1  Extending  along  the  ancient  frontier  on  the  north,  just  outside  the 
empire,  a  series  of  barbarous  races  pressed  upon  the  heels  of  their 
kinsmen  who  had  crossed  the  border.  On  the  shore  of  the  North  Sea 
between  the  Rhine  and  the  Elbe  were  the  Frisians,  farther  south  the 
Thuringians  anil  the  Alemanni.  Eastward  along  the  Danube  were 
the  Rugians,  Lombards,  and  Gepidse  in  order,  and  beyond  them  the 
Slavs.  "  All  these  tribes,  like  their  brethren  who  had  gone  before 
them,  were  showing  a  general  tendency  to  press  west  and  south,  and 
take  their  share  in  the  plunder  of  the  dismembered  empire."  Oman, 
European  History,  p.  6. 


Church  of  San  Apollinare  Nuovo,  Ravenna 

(Built  by  Theodoric.) 


The  Ostrogoths  313 

his  entire  nation,  women  and  children  as  well  as  warriors,    489  a.d. 
over   the    Alps,   and    fought   three   battles  with  Odoacer. 
After  conquering  his  opponent,  he  put  him  to  death,  and 
then  proceeded  to  take  another  third  of  the  land  of  Italy 
from  the  owners  to  give  to  his  men. 

Here  his  violence  ceased;    the  conqueror  became  the   His  govem- 

ment  of  Italy. 

statesman.  His  just  laws,  borrowed  from  the  Roman  Hodgkini 
code,  reconciled  the  native  Italians  to  their  new  German  Tkeodork. 
neighbors.  While  he  himself  remained  master  of  all,  he 
employed  his  Goths  for  war,  the  educated  Romans  as 
advisers,  and  the  Italian  commons  for  the  humbler  works 
of  peace.  With  remarkable  tact  he  adapted  himself  to  his 
new  position  as  king  of  Italy.  Though  he  could  neither 
read  nor  write,  he  encouraged  education;  a  barbarian,  he  , 
yet  appreciated  the  value  of  Roman  law  and  civilization; 
an  Arian,  he  tolerated  the  orthodox  Gatholics.  Thus 
through  the  thirty-three  years  of  his  reign  he  pursued  the 
liberal  policy  of  harmonizing  the  discordant  forces  of  his 
kingdom.  Under  him  Italy  was  secure  from  invasion;  and 
after  centuries  of  ruinous  dependence  upon  the  provinces, 
the  country  recovered  some  of  the  prosperity  it  had  known 
before  the  Punic  Wars.  The  great  cities  could  now  repair 
their  decayed  public  works  and  erect  new  ones.  Among 
the  king's  buildings  in  Ravenna,  his  capital,  was  a  beauti- 
ful church  in  the  style  of  a  basilica,  which  is  still  standing. 

His  influence  was  felt  outside  of  Italy:  on  the  one  hand,    His  foreign 

...  ,  /-,  .•      relations. 

he  continued  subject  in  name  to  th*  emperor  in  Constanti- 
nople; on  the  other,  he  connected  himself  by  marriages 
of  his  relatives  with  most  of  the  German  kings  of  the  West. 
By  such  means  he  brought  the  warring  races  of  the  broken 
empire  into  some  degree  of  friendly  relation,  which 
crudely  foreshadowed  the  present  state-system  of  Europe. 
Had  his  reign  prospered  to  the  end,  he  rather  than  Charle- 


3H 


The  New   German   States 


magne  might  have  been  the  restorer  of  the  empire  in  the 
West;  and  in  that  case  the  Goths  would  have  been  the  ruling 
race.  But  this  was  not  to  be.  In  his  later  years  there  were 
intrigues  to  rid  Italy  of  the  Goths  and  to  bring  the  country 


Borma,  i  Co.jffJ 


under  the  emperor.  This  trouble  led  Theodoric  to  put 
to  death  on  a  charge  of  conspiracy  the  two  most  eminent 
men  of  his  court,  —  Boethius,  the  renowned  philosopher, 
and  Symmachus,  also  a  noted  scholar.  Suspecting  the 
pope    of    disloyalty,    the     king     threw    him     into    prison, 


Justinian  3X5 

where  he  soon    died.      Theodoric    himself    did    not    long    524-525  a.i>. 
survive  his  victims.     Thus  a  glorious  reign  ended  in  sad- 
ness;   and  no  one  after  Theodoric  was  able    to  carry  on 
his  great  work. 

In  the  reign  of  Theodoric,  Justin  became  emperor.     A   Justin, 
rude  Illyrian  peasant,   he    had    made    his  way  to  the  im-    5I  "52y 
perial  office  by  soldierly  ability.      Like  the  Gothic  king  of 
Italy,  he  was  ignorant  even  of  the  alphabet;  but  he  gave 
his  nephew   Justinian  a    thorough    education,  and   finally 
crowned  him  emperor. 

Justinian,  who  thus  came  to  the  imperial  throne  the  year  Justinian, 
after  Theodoric's   death,    was  ambitious    "to   restore   the    q^,5^ 
grandeur  of  the  empire"  by  conquering  the  German  king-    Byzantine 
doras  of  the  West.     He  had  the  rare  faculty  of  choosing  E"lP're> 

ens.  vi,  vn. 

the  most  competent  person  for  each  special  service.  His 
wife,  the  Empress  Theodora,  once  a  dancing  girl  of  low 
character,  was  nevertheless  a  brilliant  woman  who  increased 
the  splendor  of  the  court  while  she  tyrannized  over  nobles 
and  magistrates.  At  the  same  time  she  was  charitable  to 
the  poor;  and  once  in  a  riot  her  firmness  saved  the  throne  cf.  p.  346. 
for  her  husband,  whose  ambition  doubtless  owed  much  to 
her  influence.  So  in  Belisarius  the  emperor  found  a  com- 
mander of  remarkable  genius,  well  qualified  to  lead  in  the 
(work  of  conquest.  This  general  subdued  the  Vandals  of  533-534  a.b. 
Africa  in  one  short  campaign;  for  after  the  death  of 
Gaiseric  they  had  declined,  and  their  Roman  subjects 
welcomed  the  army  of  the  East  as  a  deliverer  from 
oppression. 

Next  year  Belisarius  attacked  the  Ostrogothic  kingdom,    conquest  of 
which  included  Sicily  as  well  as  Italy.      He  met  with  little   "5^540  a.d. 
opposition  till  he  had  entered  Rome.      There  the  Goths   Hodgkin, 
besieged   him   for  a  year;    meantime  Witigis,  their  king,    Italy,™. 
cut  off  the  water  supply,  so  that  Rome  lacked  pure  water 


3 1 6  The  New  German  States 

till  some  of  the  aqueducts  were  restored  a  thousand  years 
afterward.  When  the  siege  was  at  length  raised,  Belisa- 
rius,  on  his  part,  found  it  difficult  to  take  the  strong  cities 
of  northern  Italy.  By  negotiation,  however,  he  finally 
secured  possession  of  the  king  and  of  the  entire  country.1 
As  the  Roman  rule  was  oppressive,  the  Goths  immediately 

54°-553A-D-  revolted;  but  after  a  long,  fierce  struggle  the  remnant  of 
their  number  bade  farewell  to  Italy,  and  seem  to  have 
dispersed  among  various  barbarian  tribes.  The  penin- 
sula came  wholly  under  the  emperor,  and  was  governed 
for  him  by  an  officer  termed  exarch  whose  capital  was 
Ravenna.  Still  later,  Justinian  gained  a  foothold  in  south- 
eastern Spain  but  failed  to  conquer  the  entire  West-Gothic 
kingdom. 

wars  with  While  the  emperor  was  subduing  Italy  he  was  struggling 

to  protect  the  empire  from  the  Persians,  who  were  as 
mighty  as  ever.  More  than  once  he  had  to  purchase 
peace  by  the  payment  of  tribute.  It  was  well  for  Europe, 
however,  that  he  was  able  to  accomplish  even  that;  and 
we  should  never  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  German 
nations  were  free  to  work  out  the  destiny  of  the  continent 
only  because  the  empire  formed  their  bulwark  against 
the  powers  of  Asia.     Such  it  continued  to  be  for  hundreds 

1453  a. 1 1.  of  years  longer,  till  Constantinople  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Turks. 

1  The  legal  and  diplomatic  adviser  of  Belisarius  in  these  campaigns 
was  a  Clreek  named  Procopius,  who  wrote  an  admirable  history  of  the 
wars  —  De  Bel/is  —  of  Justinian.  Though  this  work  shows  due  respect 
for  the  emperor  and  empress,  it  is  evident  that  in  his  heart  the  author 
disapproved  their  character.  In  his  later  years,  accordingly,  he  com- 
posed a  secret  history — Anecdota  —  of  the  scandals  and  immoralities 
of  the  imperial  court,  whose  corruption  his  anger  and  disgust  exag- 
gerated. This  last  work  did  not  come  to  light  till  after  the  author's 
death. 


The  Civil  Law 


17 


Like  the  earlier  Roman  emperors,  Justinian  was  a  great  Public  works, 

builder  of  roads,  fortifications,  aqueducts,  and  other  pub-  'm         " 

1  A  0111 all  r.iu- 

lic  works.     The  most  splendid  of  his  many  churches  was  pbe,\. p. 469 

the  dome-covered  cathedral  of  St.  Sophia,  now  a  mosque.  ";  "•  P-4oft. 


i 

Ei 

^^■•flK      jMff  '.  * ^t  »ji 

l#: 

iiftyfcjiiii'1  '„ 

8*  ■  fch^^^K 

'-'    L^V 

5r <-sk  ifi«JI 

nyi^ 

n^l^M                      .  ^^^^Br 

SP  I^M0pRPl 

5i    2. 

J 

Cathedral  of  St.  Sophia,  Constantinople 

(Built  by  Justinian.) 

In  his  reign  agriculture,  commerce,  and  the  skilled  indus- 
tries still  flourished  throughout  the  empire;  but  the  produce 
went  to  support  the  oppressive  Church,  State,  and  army. 
Though  he  did  nothing  to  encourage  the  laborer,  it  was 
under  his  patronage  that  two  Christian  missionaries  brought 
eggs  of  the  silk-worm  from  China  to  Constantinople,  and 
taught  the  Europeans  the  culture  of  silk.  Justinian,  how- 
ever, is  most  noted  as  the  emperor  who  finally  codified 
the  Roman  law. 

The  legal  system  of  Rome  had  been  developing  for  more   Final  coditi- 

cation  of  the 
than  a  thousand  years  along  two  closely  connected  lines,    law 


3 1 8  The  New  German   States 

p.  76.  —  first,  statutes,  and  second,  decisions.    The  earliest  collec- 

tion of  statutes  was  made  by  the  Decemvirs,  an  extraordi- 
Gibbon,  ch.  nary  legislative  body.  To  these  laws  were  added  from 
xiiv;  Bury,  tjme  to  tjme  the  acts  of  the  assemblies  during  the  repub- 
LfZ°T  lie,  and  the  edicts  of  the  praetors,  which  before  Hadrian 
p.  365  ft  were  binding  only  for  the  year  of  their  issue.     But  these 

P"  2S8,  earlier  statutes  were  gradually  superseded  by  those  of  the 

emperors,  who  in  time  usurped  all  the  legislative  power. 
Thus  there  came  to  be  a  great,  confused  mass  of  imperial 
enactments,    sorely    in    need    of     revision.     The    second 
branch  of  Roman  law  comprised  the  decisions1  of  jurists 
as  to   how  the   statutes  should  apply  to   particular  cases 
which  had  arisen  or  which  might  arise.     These  decisions, 
filling  many  volumes,  had  become  hopelessly  contradictory 
and    inconsistent.      It  was  a  merit  of   Justinian  that  he 
wished  to  reduce  this  chaos  to  order.     Accordingly  under 
his  authority  Tribonian,  an  eminent  jurist,  aided  by  several 
associates,  drew  up  first  the  Code,  containing  twelve  books 
of  statutes,  and  second,  the  Digest  in  fifty  books,  which 
summarized  the  decisions  of  all  the  most  learned  lawyers. 
To  these  they  added  a  third  work,  the  Institutes,  a  treatise 
on  the  principles  of  jurisprudence  for  the  use  of  students. 
These  writings  together   form  the  body  of  the  Civil  Law, 
the  most  precious  gift  of   Rome  to  the  modern  world. 
Justinian  an         Fortunately   for    the   progress   of    the    human    race,    the 
oppressor.         achievements  of    men   are   often   superior   to   their   actual 
lives.      For  example  Tribonian,  who  in  codifying  the  law 
diil  so  great  a  service  for  civilization,  was  himself  avaricious 
and  corrupt.      Mis  master,   Justinian,   illustrates  the  same 
truth.     While  he  drudged  for  the  glory  of  the  empire,  his 
expensive  wars  and  his  extravagance  in  building  inflicted 
a   grievous   burden   upon    his   subjects.       With    his    rare 
1  Called  Kcsponsa  because  they  were  givi  11  in  reply  to  questions. 


<  2 

-a 

0:1    5 


o 

w  a 

O     v 

a  ^ 

a   >. 

ffi  -0 

<  & 

O 


The  Lombards  319 

instinct  for  choosing  competent  helpers,  he  employed  John 
of  Cappadocia  to  supply  him  with  funds.  The  genius  of  Beli- 
sarius  for  war  was  equalled  by  the  talent  of  this  minister  of 
finance  1  for  multiplying  taxes  and  for  extorting  money  by 
fair  means  or  foul.  Under  his  management  the  wretched 
population  groaned  like  slaves  before  a  cruel  driver. 

Notwithstanding  the  abuses  of  Justinian's  reign,  we  find   The  Lom- 
in    him    another    factor  which    made    for    law  and    order   n^ 
throughout  the  world.      Especially  his  conquests  brought   568  a. n. 
the  Western  nations  into  closer  contact  with  Roman  civili-    ,  °,  s  in' 

Italy,  v. 

zation,  and  further  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the  Ger- 
mans the  idea  that  they,  too,  were  included  in  the  empire.  P.  309. 
The  rule  of  the  emperors,  however,  was  financially  too  bur- 
densome to  be  long  endured  in  Italy.  For  twelve  years  553-567  a. n. 
after  its  conquest  the  peninsula  was  governed  by  Narses, 
an  able,  ambitious  man,  whose  public  •  improvements 
weighed  heavily  upon  the  taxpayers.  The  story  is  that 
when  the  Italians  grew  weary  of  his  rule,  and  the  successor 
of  Justinian  ordered  him,  accordingly,  to  return  to  Con- 
stantinople, he  besought  the  Lombards  to  save  him  by 
invading  the  country.  They  were  a  German  tribe  who  had 
recently  settled  in  Pannonia.  In  reply  to  the  alleged  invi- 
tation, their  king  Alboin  led  them  into  Italy.  Though 
warlike  they  seem  to  have  been  few,  so  that  they  never 
succeeded  in  conquering  the  whole  country.  Their  capi- 
tal was  Pavia;  and  the  district  they  held  in  the  Po  valley 
still  bears  the  name  of  Lombardy.  Besides  this,  they 
occupied  a  territory  in  central  Italy  northeast  of  Rome,  and 
another  in  the  south  of  the  peninsula.2 

1  Officially  pretorian  prefect. 

2  Alboin  did  not  live  long  after  his  conquest  of  Italy.  At  a  banquet 
he  once  bade  Rosamond,  his  wife,  drink  from  a  goblet  made  of  the 
skull  of  her  own  father,  whom  the  Lombard  king  had  killed  in  battle. 


320  The  New  German   States 

Character  of  Lacking  a  strong  central  government,  the  Lombards  soon 
their  rule.  divided  into  a  number  of  duchies,  whose  dukes  were  con- 
stantly fighting  against  one  another,  against  the  king,  — 
when  they  had  one, — and  against  the  still  unconquered 
districts.  The  Italians  feared  and  hated  them,  for  they 
were  far  harsher  and  more  barbarous  than  the  Goths  had 
been;  in  fact  it  was  only  with  the  lapse  of  centuries  that 
they  gained  some  degree  of  Roman  refinement. 
Results  of  Meantime  their  occupation  of  Italy  had  a  far-reaching 

the  conquest.    effect  upon  die  history  of  the   peninsula  and  of  Europe. 

(I)  Disunion 

of  Italy.  Their  possessions  were  so  distributed  as  to  leave  the  uncon- 

quered territory  cut  up  into  duchies  of  varying  size,  with 
scarcely  any  means  of  communication  with  one  another. 
Though  these  duchies,  under  the  nominal  lordship  of  the 
exarch  of  Ravenna,  still  looked  to  the  emperor  as  their 
sovereign,  most  of  them  were  practically  independent. 
Thus  the  Lombard  invasion  destroyed  the  unity  of  Italy. 
In  time,  the  country  fell  into  a  condition  somewhat  like 
that  of  ancient  Greece,  with  her  brilliant  independent 
cities,  jealous  of  one  another  and  constantly  at  war,  and 
with  her  weakness  in  relation  to  foreign  states.  It  is  only 
in  recent  years  that  Italy  has  become  completely,  and  we 
may  hope  permanently,  united  and  free. 

(II)  Growth         As  a  second  important  result  of  the  Lombard  conquest, 
of  the  papal     t]ie  p0pe  0f  Rome,  isolated  from  the  exarch  of  Ravenna 

and  from  the  emperor  in  the  East,  began  to  acquire,  in 
addition  to  his  priesthood,  the  character  of  a  political 
ruler.     The  possessions  of  the  papal  office,  or  see,  came 

She  obeyed,  but  afterward  had  him  murdered.  Becoming  the  wife  <>l 
one  of  the  assassins,  she  gave  her  second  husband  poisoned  liquor,  and 
lie,  discovering  the  treachery,  compelled  her  to  finish  the  fatal  draught. 
The  annals  of  the  German  invaders  abound  in  such  stories  of  intrigue 
and  violence. 


power. 


Italy,  v. 
p.  308  ff. 


The  Angles  and  Saxons  321 

to  include,  under  the  title  of  the  Patrimony  of  St.  Peter,  Hodgkin, 
many  estates  throughout  Italy  and  Sicily,  which,  could 
they  have  been  massed  together,  would  have  made  a  con- 
siderable kingdom.  As  the  administrator  of  the  Patri- 
mony, the  pope  gained  something  of  the  power  of  an 
earthly,  or  temporal,  prince.  The  man  who  did  most  to 
bring  this  about  was  Gregory  the  Great,  an  eminent  states- 
man as  well  as  priest,  who  became  pope  in  590  a.d.  We  590-604  a.d. 
shall  see  how,  many  years  later,  the  pope  was  made  wholly 
independent  of  the  Eastern  emperor,  and  how  his  tem- 
poral power  was  greatly  increased  and  placed  on  a  lasting 
basis  by  the  favor  of  a  Prankish  king.  P.  328. 

Before  beginning  the  story  of  the  Franks,  it  is  necessary  Anglo-Saxon 
to  learn  something  of  the  conquest  of  Britain  by  the  Angles   g^t^n 
and  the  Saxons.     Though  Roman  civilization  and  Chris- 
tianity took  no  deep  hold  upon  this  island,  the  yoke  of   411  a.d. 
Rome  had  made  the  Celtic  population  weak  and  cowardly. 
Hence,  when  Honorius  recalled  his  troops  from  Britain,    P.  299. 
the   inhabitants  of  that  part  which  had  been  subject  to 
Rome  could  not  defend  themselves  against  the  barbarians 
who   assailed  them  on  every  side.     Scots  from  Ireland, 
Picts  from  Scotland,  and  Jute  and  Saxon  pirates  grievously 
distressed  them,  and  threatened,   in  fact,   to  overrun  the   Gi]das 
whole  country.     "The  barbarians, "  groaned  the  wretched    Groans  of 
Britons,  "drive  us  to  the  sea;  the  sea  throws  us  back  on 
the  barbarians;   thus  two  modes  of  death  assail  us, — we 
are  either  slain  or  drowned."     At  length  they  called  upon 
the  Jutes,  a  Germanic  tribe,  to  help  them  against  the  Picts.   449  a.d. 
The  defenders  became  conquerors;  and  their  example  was 
followed  by  their  more  numerous  kinsmen,  the  Angles  and 
the    Saxons,    who    in   time    subdued    and    settled   all    the 
Romanized  part  of  the  island.     The  Britons  who  survived 
were  pushed   back  or  reduced    to  serfdom,  so  that   little 


322 


The  New  German   States 


English  civ- 
ilization. 
Green,  Eng- 
lish People  ; 
Coman  and 
Kendall, 
England. 


596  A.D. 


664  A.D. 


The  Franks 
Pp.  274,  306, 

3"- 


Clovis, 

481-5 1 1  A.D. 


trace  of  them  is  left  in  the  England  which  resulted  from 
the  conquest;  on  the  other  hand,  Wales,  Scotland,  and  Ire- 
land remained  Celtic.  The  leaders  of  the  invading  bands 
became  kings,  each  of  the  small  district  he  had  subdued. 
In  time  arose  seven  states,  —  the  so-called  Heptarchy,  — 
which  finally  united  in  one  kingdom. 

As  the  Angles  and  the  Saxons,  before  the  conquest,  had 
lived  in  northern  Germany,  far  away  from  the  empire, 
they  knew  nothing  of  Christianity  or  of  Roman  civiliza- 
tion. Under  them,  therefore,  Britain  again  became  bar- 
barous and  pagan.  The  invaders  brought  to  their  new 
home  the  manners  and  institutions  which  had  been  theirs 
in  the  fatherland,  and  from  which  the  English  people  of 
to-day  have  derived  their  government  and  law,  scarcely 
touched  by  the  influence  of  Rome.  As  to  the  religion 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  conquerors,  the  case  was  quite  differ- 
ent. Pope  Gregory  the  Great  sent  them  missionaries,  and 
others  came  to  them  from  Ireland,  which  had  already  been 
Christianized.  As  there  was  some  difference  between 
the  Irish  and  Roman  churches,  strife  ensued,  in  which 
Rome  at  length  triumphed;  so  that  England  became  sub- 
ject to  the  Roman  church,  acknowledging  the  pope  as 
her  supreme  spiritual  authority.  It  was  no  little  gain  to 
the  cause  of  peace  and  civilization  that  when  Britain 
was  forever  broken  from  the  empire,  religion  reunited 
it  to   Rome. 

It  remains  for  us  to  follow  the  story  of  the  Franks. 
Politically  they  proved  to  be  the  most  important  of  the 
Germans;  for  their  rulers,  with  the  help  of  the  pope,  suc- 
ceeded in  reducing  the  various  invading  races  to  unity  and 
order,  —  in  reestablishing  the  empire  in  the  West. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  fifth  century  a.d.,  when  the 
Franks   were   about    to   enter   upon    their   great    political 


Clovis  323 

career,  they  occupied  both  banks  of  the  middle  and  lower   Sergeant, 
Rhine.     Not  given  to  wandering  as  were  the  other  Ger-    The  Franks> 

chs.  viii-xi. 
mans,    they    had    contented     themselves    with     gradually 

extending  their  territory.     We  find  them  divided  into  a 

number  of  tribes,  each  under  a  chief.     One  of  these  petty 

sovereigns  was   Clovis,    who   began   to   reign   in  481   a.d. 

His  life-work  was  to  be  the  founding  of  a  united  Frank- 

ish    kingdom,   embracing    most   of   Gaul,   together  with  a 

part  of  western  Germany. 

Near  him  were  the  Romans,  who  still  held  a  district  in   Condition  of 

northern   Gaul;  to   the  southeast  dwelt  the   Burgundians,     T°V^\ 

°  '     481.  A.D. 

and  to  the  south  the  Visigoths,  whose  territory  included   Pp.  302, 306. 
not  only  a  large  portion  of  Gaul,  but  most  of  Spain.     The    Pp.  305,  313. 
Vandals   held  Africa;    and   Theodoric   the   Ostrogoth   was 
soon  to  conquer  Italy.     Such  was  the  condition  of  south- 
western Europe  at  this  time. 

In  a  battle  at  Soissons  Clovis  conquered  his  Roman  Conquests  of 
neighbors.  He  then  defeated  the  Burgundians,  and  made  .g^Tu 
them  tributary,  though  he  failed  to  incorporate  them  wholly 
in  his  kingdom.  In  another  war  he  brought  under  his  rule 
most  of  the  West-Goths  who  lived  in  Gaul.  Many  years 
he  was  engaged  in  these  conquests.  Meantime  he  was  plot- 
ting against  the  chiefs  of  the  other  Frankish  tribes.  By  hav- 
ing them  murdered,  one  after  another,  he  finally  united  in 
his  own  hands  the  authority  of  all.  Thus  through  war  and 
intrigue,  he  did  much  to  weld  Celts,  Romans,  and  Germans 
into  the  great  Frankish  nation. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  reign  he  and  his  subjects  were   ciovisand 
pagan.     But  he  married  the  Burgundian  princess  Clotilda,    Ch"stiamty- 
who  chanced  to  belong  to  the  Roman  church;  and  when, 
somewhat  later,   he  persuaded  himself  that  her  God   had 
helped  him  win  a  battle,  he  and  three  thousand  of  his  war- 
riors were  baptized  into  her  faith.     To  appreciate  the  im- 


324 


The  New  German  States 


portance  of  this  event,  we  must  recall  the  fact  that  while  the 
Romans  in  what  had  been  the  Western  empire  were  of  the 
orthodox  faith,  the  invading  Germans,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  families  like  that  of  Clotilda,  were  heterodox 
Arians.  Again,  the  orthodox  church  naturally  aimed  to 
defend  its  own  form  of  belief  and  to  suppress  Arianism. 
Accordingly  it  welcomed  Clovis,  and  encouraged  him  to 
conquer  the  heretic  Burgundians  and  West-Goths.  Now 
it  was  this  alliance  between  the  Roman  church  and  the 
Frankish  throne  which,  three  centuries  later,  was  to  refound 
the  empire  in  the  West  and  to  give  a  new  character  to 
mediaeval  history. 

Clovis  was  a  barbarian;  though  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity, he  remained  treacherous  and  cruel  to  the  end. 
Nevertheless,  as  the  maker  of  a  strong,  influential  nation, 
he  did  a  priceless  service  for  civilization.  His  descend- 
ants, who  continued  to  rule  for  nearly  two  and  a  half 
centuries  after  him,  carried  on  his  work.  They  are  called 
Merovingians,  from  Merowig,  grandfather  of  Clovis.  We 
need  not  dwell  on  the  details  of  their  long  reign.  For  a 
time  the  members  of  the  dynasty  were  able  and  aggressive. 
Under  them  the  kingdom  of  the  Franks  grew  in  extent  and 
prospered;  not  only  did  important  German  nations1  submit 
to  them,  but  they  gained  more  thorough  control  of  Burgundy 
and  of  southern  Gaul  —  the  land  of  the  Visigoths.  Then 
their  conquests  ceased;  instead  of  consolidating  the  great 
kingdom,  rival  heirs  to  the  throne  of  Clovis  began  to  murder 
548-638  A.D.  one  another  and  to  waste  the  country  in  civil  war.  Their 
cruelty  fills  nearly  a  century  of  their  country's  history. 
Sometimes  the  heirs,  divided  the  provinces  among  them- 
selves, and  again  a  strong  ruler  would  reunite  the  kingdom. 

1  Thuringia,  Swabia,  and  Bavaria.     Frisia  was  added  by  the  follow- 
ing dynasty. 


Pp-  327.  330. 


The  Merovin- 
gians. 

Adams, 
French  Na- 
tion, ch.  iii. 


511-752  A.D. 


511-548  A.D 


Charles  Mart c I  325 

The  tendency  was  to  a  division  into  three  loosely  connected 
states, — Austrasia,  which  was  thoroughly  German;  Neus- 
tria,  whose  population  contained  an  influential  Roman  ele- 
ment; and  Burgundy.  The  last  important  Merovingian  Dagobert, 
king  was  Dagobert,  whose  reign  ended  in  638.  Thereafter  6z8~638  A" 
the  rulers  of  this  dynasty  were  so  weak  and  worthless  as  to 
earn  the  title  of  do-nothing  kings. 

As  these  rulers  grew  more  and  more  feeble,  the  steward   Mayers  of  the 
of  the  royal  household,  termed  Mayor  of  the  Palace,  gradu-     alace' 
ally  took  the  management  of  public  affairs  into   his  own 
hands  and  became  prime  minister.      In  Austrasia  the  posi- 
tion came  to  be  hereditary  in  a  powerful  family  known  to 
history  as  Carolingian,  from  Charles  the  Great,  its  most   p.  328. 
illustrious  member.     The  achievement  of  the  early  Caro- 
lingians  was  to  reunite  the  Frankish  nation.     This  work 
was   completed   by    Mayor   Charles,    afterward    surnamed   Charles 
Martel.     It   was   an   especially    fortunate    event,    for   the    Martel- 
Franks  needed  their  combined  strength  against  the  Moham- 
medans, who  had  recently  conquered  Spain  and  were  now 
threatening  all  Europe. 

The  Mohammedans  were  followers  of  Mohammed,  who   The  Moham- 
was  born  about  571  A.D.,  in  Mecca,  the  holy  city  of  Arabia.    medans- 
Before  his  time  the  Arabs  were  idolaters,  but  he  presented 
himself  to  them  as  the  prophet  of  the  one  God.     With  a 
marvellous  personality  and  a  deep  knowledge  of  the  reli- 
gious and*  moral  needs  of  his  people,  he  wrote  and  spoke 
as  one  inspired.     His  writings,  which  afterward  composed 
the  Koran,  he  asserted  to  be  a  revelation  from  God;  to  his 
followers  they  were  what  the  Bible  was  to  the  Christians. 
When  the  men  of  Mecca  threatened  his  life,  he  fled  to   622  a.d. 
Medina,  whose  inhabitants  warmly  welcomed  him.     As  his 
church  grew  strong,  he  proclaimed  that  the  faith  should  be 
forced  upon  unbelievers.     "The  sword,"  he  declared,  "is 


326 


The  New   German   States 


Gibbon,  ch. 


Freeman, 
Saracens . 


711  A.D. 


The  battle  of 
Poitiers  (or 
of  Tours) , 
732  A.D. 


the  key  of  heaven  and  hell;  a  drop  of  blood  shed  in  the 
cause  of  God,  a  night  spent  in  arms,  avails  more  than  two 
months  of  fasting  and  prayer;  whosoever  falls  in  battle,  his 
sins  are  forgiven;  at  the  day  of  judgment  his  wounds  shall 
be  resplendent  as  vermilion,  and  odoriferous  as  musk;  and 
the  loss  of  limbs  shall  be  supplied  by  the  wings  of  angels." 
Henceforth  his  followers  rapidly  increased.  Some  were 
attracted  by  faith,  others  by  fear,  and  others  by  hope  of 
conquest  and  plunder.  Soon  the  army  of  believers  spread 
the  faith  over  Arabia,  Syria,  Persia,  and  as  far  into  Asia  as 
Alexander  the  Great  had  marched.  But  when  they  tried 
to  conquer  the  Roman  empire  in  the  East,  the  walls  of 
Constantinople  withstood  the  shock  of  their  fanatic  arms. 
On  the  south  shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  however,  they  met 
with  little  resistance.  They  conquered  Egypt,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  seventh  century  a.d.  the  entire  African  coast 
to  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar.  Fierce  religious  enthusiasm, 
absolute  faith  in  destiny,  —  in  the  future  bliss  of  the  devout 
warrior  of  God,  —  the  glory  and  the  rewards  of  victory, 
swept  them  impatiently  on.  Early  in  the  eighth  century, 
they  crossed  to  Spain  and  readily  overran  the  decayed 
kingdom  of  the  Visigoths.  Their  empire  now  lay  along 
the  Mediterranean  in  a  stupendous  crescent,  whose  horns 
threatened  Christian  Europe  east  and  west. 

When  they  invaded  France,  at  first  with  their  usual  suc- 
cess, Christianity  seemed  doomed;  but  a  power  existed 
with  which  the  Saracens  had  not  reckoned,  —  the  fresh 
virile  nation  of  Franks  lately  united  under  Mayor  Charles. 
At  his  call,  thousands  of  stalwart  warriors  gathered  to  repel 
the  danger.  The  hosts  met  in  battle  near  Poitiers  in 
732  a.d.  All  day  the  light  cavalry  of  the  invaders  dashed 
in  vain  against  the  immovable  ranks  of  Prankish  infantry. 
The  Mohammedans  lost  vast  numbers,  including  their  able 


Pippin  327 

commander.  They  saw  at  once  that  they  had  met  their 
superiors;  and  deserting  their  camp,  they  retreated  south- 
ward. The  victory  saved  western  Europe  from  the  Moham- 
medans; though  they  were  still  able  to  annoy,  they  were  no 
longer  dangerous.  To  Charles,  the  victor,  after  ages  gave 
the  name  Martel  —  the  Hammer  —  in  remembrance  of  his 
blows  which  crushed  all  enemies. 

Charles  died  in  741  a.d.,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  Mayor 
son  Pippin.  Father  and  son  pursued  the  same  methods  ™1D'  AD< 
of  building  up  the  power  of  the  Franks;  and  we  need 
not  separate  their  work  here.  Outlying  provinces  which 
had  revolted  they  reduced  to  submission;  they  further 
strengthened  the  central  authority  by  engaging  the  nobles 
in  their  service;  they  brought  the  churches  of  the  realm 
into  one  religious  system,  which,  however,  they  held' sub- 
ordinate to  the  State;  and  with  the  aid  of  religion  they 
strove  to  uplift  the  morals  of  their  people.  As  the  Franks, 
while  retaining  much  of  their  primitive  barbarism,  had 
adopted  the  vices  of  Roman  civilization,  there  was  now 
great  need  of  reform. 

Charles  remained  simply  mayor  to  his  death;  but  Pippin   King  Pippin, 
deposed  the  royal  Merovingian  puppet,  and  himself  became   75!-768  As- 
king by  a  double  ceremony:    the    Franks  elected  him  in 
their  own  fashion,  and  the  Church  anointed  him  with  holy 
oil  according  to  biblical   usage.      Thus  he  ascended  the 
throne  with  the  consent  of   the  pope.     In  fact  the  rela- 
tions between  the  papal  see  and  the  Frankish  throne  had 
been  friendly  from  the  days  of  Clovis,  and  now  ripened   P.  324' 
into  a  close  alliance.     Charles  Martel  had  been  asked  for 
help  against  the  Lombards,  who  were  besieging  the  pope 
in  Rome.     When  another  pope  found  himself  threatened 
by  the  Lombards,  he  called   on   Pippin   for  aid.     There- 
upon  the   king  of   the  Franks  twice  invaded    Italy,   took 


328 


The  New  German  States 


p.  321. 


Charlemagne, 

768-814  A.D. 

Emerton, 
Middle  Ages, 
chs.  xiii,  xiv. 


Appearance 
and  char- 
acter. 
Hodgkin, 
Charles  the 
Great,  p.  85; 
cf.  Einhard, 
( 'harles  the 
Great. 


His  con- 
quests. 


772-803   A.  II. 


from  the  Lombards  the  country  about  Ravenna,  — a  terri- 
tory they  had  wrested  from  the  emperor;  and  instead  of 
restoring  it  to  the  rightful  owner,  he  placed  it  under  the 
rule  of  the  pope.  This  dominion  came  to  the  pope  in 
addition  to  the  actual  landed  property  of  his  office  in- 
cluded under  the  term  Patrimony  of  St.  Peter.  As  he  was 
now  able  to  throw  off  all  allegiance  to  the  emperor,  and  as 
the  gift  of  Pippin  was  indeed  vast,  this  donation  rather  than 
the  earlier  Patrimony  is  generally  considered  the  begin- 
ning of  the  pope's  temporal  power.  The  head  of  the 
Church  now  possessed  great  revenues,  an  army,  and  an 
influential  place  among  the  princes  of  this  world.  His 
temporal  power  lasted  till  1870,  when  his  dominions 
rjassed  to  Victor  Emmanuel,  king  of  Italy. 

Charles,  who  succeeded  his  father  Pippin  in  768,  is 
known  to  us  as  Charles  the  Great  —  Charlemagne.  From 
the  fact  that  he  stamped  his  character  upon  western 
Europe,  and  gave  direction  to  the  current  of  its  history 
for  centuries,  we  reckon  him  among  the  most  eminent  men 
of  all  time. 

"He  was  a  man  of  commanding  presence,  more  than  six 
feet  high,  with  large  and  lustrous  eyes,  a  rather  long  nose, 
a  bright  and  cheerful  countenance,  and  a  fine  head  of  hair, 
which  we  may  suppose  to  have  been  .  .  .  yellow  like  that 
of  his  Teutonic  forefathers."  More  remarkable  than  the 
beauty  and  the  majesty  of  his-  person  was  his  genius  for 
political  organization  and  government,  directed  by  a  well- 
considered  purpose  of  educating  his  people  and  of  improv- 
ing their  religious  and  moral  condition. 

One  of  his  chief  aims  was  to  round  out  his  kingdom  on  the 
east  by  the  conquest  of  Saxony.  Early  in  his  reign,  accord- 
ingly, lie  began  the  war,  which  lasted  with  many  interrup- 
tions more  than  thirty  years.  To  conquer  an  enemy  whom  he 


Charlemagne 


3^9 


could  not  find,  who  would  not  meet  him  in  open  fight,  who 
loved  freedom  and  kindred  above  every  law  or  treaty  obli- 
gation, was  a  wearisome  task.  At  length,  however,  it  was 
done;  the  Saxons  accepted  Christianity  and  the  firm,  just 
rule  of  Charlemagne.  Early  in  the  Saxon  war,  in  an  inter- 
val of  quiet,  Charlemagne  invaded  Spain  to  support  a  778  a.d. 
faction  of  Mohammedans  against  the  central  government. 


The  Iron  Crown  of  Lombardy 

The  inner  circle  of  iron  said  to  have  been  made  from  a  nail  of  the  True  Cross. 
(Cathedral  of  Monza.) 

The  campaign  was  a  failure;  and  while  recrossing  the  Alps 
the  army  fell  into  an  ambuscade  which  the  mountain 
Basques  had  laid  for  it  in  a  gorge  at  Roncesvalles.  The 
king  lost  his  baggage-train  and  many  men.  Among  the 
officers  killed  was  one  who  under  the  name  of  Roland 
afterward  became  a  famous  hero  of  romance.  Notwith- 
standing the  failure  of  this  expedition,  later  efforts  pushed  785-812  a.m. 
the  Frankish  border  some  distance  south  of  the  Pyrenees. 


330 


The  New  German  States 


Conquest  of 
Lombardy, 
774  A.D. 


Emperor 
Charles, 
800-814  A-D- 


Emerton, 
Mediaeval 
Europe,  p.  6. 


The  wars  which  he  found  necessary  for  defending  his 
kingdom,  and  for  knitting  it  together,  need  not  detain  us. 
Far  more  important  was  his  conquest  of  the  Lombards,  in 
response  to  another  call  of  the  pope  for  help  against  them. 
Charlemagne  himself  assumed  the  iron  crown  of  Lombardy 
in  addition  to  his  sovereignty  over  the  Franks.  On  Christ- 
mas Day,  800  a.d.,  while  he  was  kneeling  at  prayer  in  the 
Church  of  St.  Peter,  Pope  Leo  III  crowned  him  Emperor 
of  the  Romans.  In  one  sense  this  was  a  revival  of  the 
Roman  empire  of  the  West:  Roman  learning,1  Roman 
traditions,  and  the  potent  influence  of  Roman  law,  system, 
and  centralization  continued  in  it.  In  another  sense  it 
was  Germanic:  the  dominant  race  was  German;  the 
Prankish  nation,  which  had  brought  about  this  union  of 
the  races,  remained  the  most  thoroughly  German  of  all 
the  invaders;  much  of  the  strength,  the  vitality,  and  the 
free  life  of  the  Germans  animated  this  empire,  at  once  new 
and  old.  For  a  capital,  so  far  as  he  needed  one,  Charle- 
magne preferred  Aachen,  —  Aix-la-Chapelle, — or  some 
other  German  city,  to  Rome.  His  heart  was  German;  his 
mind  only  was  Roman.  In  his  system,  too,  the  idea  of 
Christendom  largely  supplanted  that  of  the  Roman  world. 
"Germanic  nationality,  the  Christian  religion  according  to 
Rome,  and  the  leadership  of  the  Franks,  —  these  were  the 
three  bases  upon  which  the  empire  of  Charlemagne  rested." 
It  was  not  the  same  in  extent  as  the  empire  of  the  West; 
for  it  left  out  Britain,  most  of  Spain,  all  Africa,  and  a  part 
of  Italy;  on  the  other  hand,  it  included  Germany  as  far 

1  Latin,  too,  was  the  language  of  learning  throughout  the  realm  of 
Charlemagne;  but  the  uneducated  Germans  who  settled  within  the 
Roman  empire  met  with  little  success  in  their  attempt  to  learn  the 
speech  of  the  Romans  (p.  258).  The  dialects  resulting  from  these 
efforts  have  developed  into  the  modern  Romance  languages,  as  the 
Italian,  French,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese. 


The  Empire  of  Charlemagne  331 

at  least  as  the  Elbe,  —  a  vast  territory  Rome  had  tried  in 
vain  to  conquer.  Not  least  among  his  services,  Charle- 
magne so  massed  the  strength  of  the  Germans  that  they 
could  ward  off  the  Slavs  and  the  Turanians,  who  pressed 
upon  them  from  the  east. 

The  most  interesting  feature  of  his  government  was  his   church  and 

State 

relation  to  the  pope.  Following  the  example  of  his  fore- 
fathers, Charlemagne  made  himself  temporal  head  of  the 
Church  as  thoroughly  as  of  the  State.  He  controlled  the 
clergy,  and  presided  over  the  religious  councils  which 
regulated  sacred  affairs.  The  pope  was  spiritual  adviser, 
whose  religious  sanctions  added  weight  to  the  acts  of  the 
emperor.  Thus  the  Church  was  still  subordinate  to  the 
State;  the  struggle  for  supremacy  between  the  emperor  and 
the  pope  belonged  to  the  future. 

Though  some  years  after  his  death  his  country  was  di-   The  empire 

Survives 

vided,  the  idea  and  the  influence  of  the  empire  were  per-  to  l8o6  A  „ 
manent.  Thereafter  men  held  persistently  to  the  belief  in 
a  unity  of  Christian  nations  under  one  head, — this  was 
the  controlling  idea  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Formally  the 
empire  of  Charlemagne  continued  till  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
destroyed  it  in  1806,  a  thousand  years  after  its  founding. 

While   the  German    nations  were  establishing  themselves  in  The  empire  in 

the   West,  preparatory  to  their  union   under  Charlemagne,  the  *  e^as  a   er 

empire  in  the  East  was  slowly  decaying.     The  brilliant  reign  of  Oman,£»w- 

Justinian  exhausted  the  resources  of  his  people.     His  immediate  pean  History, 

successors,  mostly  well-minded  men  of  average  ability,  pursued  chs.  ix,  xii, 

ends  too  high  for  their  means.     Their  wars  and  excessive  taxes  X1V-  xvlii- 

continued  to  waste  the  empire.     They  soon  lost  their  foothold  • 3I  ■ 

in  Spain  and   most  of   Italy.     On  the  Danubian  border  Goths  p-  3IS'  3I  " 

and  Lombards  gave  way  to  Turanian  Avars,  who  plundered  the  ury' 

°  .    f  -  Roman 

European  provinces,  seized  strongholds,  and  levied  fines  on  the    Empire 
government.     Then  came  hordes  of  Slavs,  to  overrun   Mcesia,    ji.  p,  67  ff. 
Thrace,  and  Greece.     Cunning  savages  at  first,  far  lower  than 


332 


The  New  German  States 


Wars  with 
Persia. 

565-578. 
(Tiberius 
Constan- 
linus,  578- 
582.) 

582-602  A.D. 
602-610  A.D. 


Heraclius, 

610-641   A.I). 


626-628  A.D. 

628  A.D. 

The  Moham- 
medans and 
the  empire. 

629  A.D. 


640  A.D. 

641  A.D. 

717  A.D. 


Leo  of 
Isauria, 
717-741  A.l>. 


the  most  barbarous  Germans,  in  the  end  they  formed  colonies, 
whence  have  come  the  Croats,  Servians,  and  Bosnians  of  modern 
times. 

Meanwhile  there  was  almost  continual  war  with  Persia. 
Justin  II,  nephew  and  heir  of  Justinian,  foolishly  attacked  the 
great  power  of  the  East,  and  left  to  his  successor  the  legacy  of 
a  burdensome,  fruitless  struggle.  Maurice,  a  ruler  of  good  char- 
acter and  of  fair  ability,  made  terms  with  Persia,  and  promised 
his  subjects  some  degree  of  happiness  ;  but  he  was  killed  in  a 
mutiny  led  by  Phocas,  a  rough  soldier,  who  usurped  the  throne. 
The  new  ruler  was  a  weak  tyrant,  whose  only  pleasure  was  in 
cruelty  and  brutal  self-indulgence.  In  his  reign  the  Persians 
overran  the  eastern  provinces  and  even  Asia  Minor.  Soon, 
however,  he  was  deposed  and  killed  by  Heraclius,  whose  father, 
of  the  same  name,  was  exarch  of  Africa.  For  ten  years  after 
the  younger  Heraclius  ascended  the  throne,  the  Persians  con- 
tinued to  gain  ground.  They  not  only  held  Mesopotamia,  Syria, 
and  Asia  Minor,  but  even  seized  Jerusalem  and  conquered  Egypt. 
The  loss  of  the  rich  valley  of  the  Nile  seemed  fatal  to  the  em- 
pire ;  but  the  capture  of  the  holy  city  roused  the  Christians  to  a 
crusade  for  its  recovery.  In  violation  of  court  etiquette,  Hera- 
clius took  the  field  in  person,  and  in  a  succession  of  campaigns 
displayed  a  military  genius  the  empire  had  not  seen  since  Julius 
Caesar.  He  recovered  the  lost  provinces,  and  compelled  Persia 
to  sue  for  peace. 

In  the  following  year  the  Mohammedans  first  assailed  the 
empire,  and  at  the  same  time  attacked  Persia.  Neither  of  the 
great  powers  could  withstand  the  fierce  onset  of  the  Arabs. 
Year  after  year  the  fanatics  of  the  desert  renewed  their  attacks 
in  greater  numbers  and  with  increasing  fury,  till  Persia  was  for- 
ever humbled,  and  Heraclius,  old  and  feeble  from  sickness,  saw 
the  dreaded  enemy  in  possession  of  Mesopotamia,  Syria,  and 
even  Egypt.  .  After  his  death,  the  Moslems,  while  sweeping  over 
northern  Africa  into  Spain,  advanced  their  empire  to  the  gates 
of  Constantinople.  The  crisis  came  early  in  the  eighth  century 
when  a  hundred  thousand  Mohammedans  marched  to  besiege 
the  capital  of  the  empire,  and  a  thousand  of  their  ships  block- 
aded the  Bosporus.  Leo  the  Isaurian,  who  came  to  the  throne 
at  this  time,  was  equal  to  the  emergency.  While  his  Greek  fire 
burned  a  great  part  of  their  armada,  he  drove  their  land  forces 


The  Eastern  Emperors 


333 


back  with  terrible  slaughter.  Thus  Leo  in  718,  as  Charles 
Martel  fourteen  years  afterward,  saved  Christendom  from  the 
Moslems. 

After  the  victory  Leo  applied  himself  to  administration.  To 
purify  the  Christian  religion  from  what  he  considered  superstition, 
he  ordered  all  holy  images  to  be  removed  or  destroyed,  and  all 
pictures  on  church  walls  to  be  obliterated.  Hence  he  is  called 
the  first  iconoclastic  or  image-breaking  emperor.    Although  Italy 


Persian  Warriors 

(National  Museum,  Naples.) 


327- 


Image 
breaking. 


defied  the  order,  he  enforced  it  against  great  opposition  through- 
out the  East.  The  three  following  rulers  who  were  of  his  dynasty 
continued  the  war  alike  upon  the  Saracens  and  upon  images. 
This  zeal  caused  a  rupture  between  the  churches  of  the  East  and 
West,  for  the  pope  of  Rome  and  the  Western  clergy  favored  the 
use  of  images.  But  when  the  Empress  Irene  took  the  reins  of 
government,  at  first  as  regent  for  her  son  Constantine  VI,  she 
revived  image-worship.  The  Slavs  and  the  Saracens  ravaged 
her  country,  and  Charlemagne  set  up  a  rival  empire  in  the 
West. 

But  the  empire  was  naturally  strong.  Roman  organization, 
discipline,  and  experience  in  administration  accumulated  through 
hundreds  of  years,  kept  the  state  alive  for  centuries  after  Irene, 


741-780  a. u. 


(Constan- 
tine VI,  780- 
797;   Irene, 
797-802  A.D.) 

P.  278. 

Roman 
strength. 


334  The  New  German  States 

amid  wars  and  barbarian  invasions ;  and  the  state  on  its  part 
preserved  for  the  modern  world  a  remnant  of  the  vast  treasure  of 
ancient  civilization. 

Reading 

Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  chs.    xxxix-lii  ; 
Hodgkin,  Italy  and  her  Invaders,  iii-viii  ;    Dynasty  of  Theodosius  ; 
Theodo ric  (heroes);   Charles  the  Great ;  Davis,  Charlemagne  (heroes); 
Bury,  History  of  the  Later  Roman  Empire,  i.  p.  280,  to  the  end  of 
ii  ;    Emerton,  Introduction  to  the  Middle  Ages,  chs.   vi-xiv  ;    Church, 
Beginnings  of  the  Middle  Ages,  chs.  ii-vii  ;    Oman,  Europe,  476-918, 
chs.  i-xxii  ;    Byzantine  Empire  (nations)  ;    Art  of  War,  ii  ;    Sergeant, 
The  Franks  (nations)  ;    Adams,  Civilization  during  the  Middle  Ages, 
chs.  v-vii  ;  Duruy,  History  of  the  Middle  Ages,  bk.  I.  chs.  iii-v  ;  bks.  II, 
III  ;    Thatcher  and  Schwill,   Europe  in  the  Middle  Ages,   chs.  ii-v  ; 
Henderson,    History    of    Germany    in    the    Middle    Ages,    chs.    ii-v  ; 
Bryce,  Holy  Roman  Empire,  chs.  iv,  v  ;    Finlay,  History  of  Greece,  I. 
chs.  iii-v;    II.  bk.  i;     Hadley,   Introduction  to  Roman  Law;  Muir- 
head,  Roman  law  ;  Morey,  Outlines  of  Roman  Law  ;  Howe,  Studies 
in    the    Civil  Law  and   its   Relations  to  the  Law  of  England  and 
America  ;  Fling,   Studies  in  European  History,  i.  p.  146  ff.  (extracts 
from  the  Roman  law)  ;    Oilman,    The  Saracens  (nations) ;    Freeman, 
History  and  Conquests  of  the  Saracens;    Lane,  Arabian  Society  in  the 
Middle  Ages  ;    Muir,  The  Caliphate,  its  Rise,  Decline,  and  Fall ;  Life 
of  Mahomet ;  Mohammed,  The  Qur'an  (Koran),  translated  by  Palmer. 


A  Roman  and  his  Wife 

(Vatican  Museum,  Rome.) 

CHAPTER   XV 

THE   PRIVATE   AND   SOCIAL   LIFE   OF   THE   ROMANS 

In  the  Late  Republic  and  Early  Empire 

The  greatness  of  Rome  in  the  best  days  of  the  republic   Birth  and 
was  largely  due  to  the  peculiar  character  of   the   Roman 
family.     As  the  father  was  accustomed  to  expose  weak  or 
deformed  children,  leaving  them  to  die  or  be  picked  up  by 
strangers,  those  whom  he  spared 1  usually  grew  up  healthy 

1  On  the  ninth  day  after  birth  the  son  who  was  to  be  reared  received 
his  name.  The  parents  selected  the  personal  name  — preanomen  ;  that 
of  the  gens  —  nomen —  and  of  the  family — cognomen  —  passed  from 
father  to  son.  Sometimes  a  second  cognotnen  was  added  as  a  memo- 
rial of  a  conquest,  or  as  indicating  an  adoption.  In  "  Publius  Cornelius 
Scipio  Africanus,"  the  first  word  is  the  name  of  the  person,  the  second 
of  the  gens,  the  third  of  the  family,  and  the  fourth  distinguishes  the 
bearer  as  the  conqueror  of  Africa. 

335 


336  Roman  Life 

and  strong.  Both  parents  were  equally  careful  to  train  the 
children  in  the  stern,  simple  virtues  which  made  good 
soldiers  and  great  citizens.  During  the  early  republic 
girls  and  boys  received  all  their  instruction  from  their 
parents,  in  the  house,  field,  shop,  or  senate.  In  course  of 
time,  however,  as  more  attention  was  paid  to  education, 
and  as  business  and  statesmanship  alike  came  to  demand  a 
knowledge  of  Greek,  private  schools  were  opened.  After 
the  children  had  learned  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic, 
they  advanced  to  the  study  of  literature,  including  Greek 
and  Latin  authors;  and  finally  the  boy  was  instructed  in 
composition  and  oratory  as  a  preparation  for  public  life. 
Toward  the  end  of  the  republic  there  were  in  wealthy 
families  educated  slaves  and  paid  rhetoricians  and  philoso- 
phers who  attended  to  the  various  grades  of  instruction  till 
the  youth  was  ready  to  put  the  finishing  touches  to  his 
education  in  the  schools  of  Athens,  Rhodes,  or  some  other 
cultured  Hellenic  city. 
Marriage  When  he  had  completed  his  studies  and  had  reached  the 

age  of  perhaps  twenty-five  or  thirty,  it  was  his  duty  to 
marry.  After  deciding  upon  a  lady  whom  he  judged  suit- 
able to  be  his  wife,  he  arranged  the  betrothal  with  her 
father,  as  the  maiden  was  usually  too  young  to  be  consulted 
in  the  matter,  and  furthermore  Roman  women  were  always 
under  guardianship.  The  marriage  ceremonies  began  with 
a  feast  and  sacrifices  in  the  house  of  the  bride's  father.. 
In  the  evening  a  procession  of  youths,  torch-bearers, 
musicians,  and  guests  escorted  the  bride  to  her  future 
home,  where  the  groom  carefully  lifted  her  over  the 
threshold,  as  it  was  an  ill  omen  for  her  to  touch  the  sill 
with  her  foot.  In  case  the  wedding  was  of  the  ancient 
sacred  form  termed  confarreatio,  the  newly  married  pair 
after  entering  the  house  ate  together  a  sacred  cake  in  the 


The  Family  337 

presence  of  ten  witnesses  and  of  the  chief  pontiff  and  priest 
of  Jupiter.  The  ceremonies  of  the  evening  ended  with  a 
bridal  song  by  the  guests,  and  on  the  following  day  the 
husband  gave  a  marriage  feast  to  his  friends. 

Though  earlv  custom  placed  the  wife  in  the  power  of   The  matron, 
her  husband,   she  went   freely  into  society,  attended  the 


A  Fountain 

(Palace  of  the  Conservatory  Rome.) 

theatres  and  public  games,  taught  her  children,  and  some- 
times aided  her  husband  in  his  political  career.  Her  posi- 
tion as  mistress  of  the  household  commanded  respect  from 
the  government  as  well  as  from  society. 

Under  the  empire  some  remarkable  changes  took  place   Better  treat- 

,  i  -i  j  ment  of  chil- 

in  family  life.     We  discover  a  tendency  to  treat  children   dren 
with    increasing    kindness     and     consideration.       Waifs, 
z 


immorality. 


338  Roman   Life 

exposed  by  their  parents,  had  frequently  been  picked  up 
by  strangers,  who  reared  them  as  slaves  or  even  maimed 
and  blinded  them  to  adapt  them  to  the  profession  of  beg- 
ging.     It  was  a  sign  of  growing  humanity,  however,  that 

P.  248.  Trajan    provided   a   fund   for   rearing    poor   children,  —  a 

measure  which  checked  the  exposure  and  mistreatment  of 
infants.  At  the  same  time  parents  and  teachers  began  to 
substitute  kindness  for  whipping  in  the  education  of  the 
young.  No  matter  how  old  a  son  might  be,  the  father  had 
a  right  to  kill  him  without  trial,  till  Hadrian  changed  the 
custom  by  punishing  as  a  murderer  a  man  who  had  slain 
his  son. 

increasing  This  development  of  the  rights  of  children  was  an  omen 

of  evil  as  well  as  of  good;  for  the  strict  morality  of  old 
Rome  disappeared  along  with  the  iron  rule  of  the  father. 
Before  the  end  of  the  republic  the  sacred  forms  of  mar- 
riage were  giving  way  to  civil  contracts  made  and  dissolved 
at  pleasure.  Such  agreements  left  the  wife  in  charge  of  her 
property  and  free  from  her  husband's  power.  Whatever 
improvement  this  change  may  have  wrought  in  the  condi- 
tion of  women,  it  was  a  clear  proof  of  moral  depravity, 
which  had  brought  the  pure  life  of  the  family  to  an  end. 
Divorce  grew  alarmingly  frequent;  Seneca,  the  philoso- 
pher, says  there  were  women  who  reckoned  their  years  by 
the  number  of  their  husbands.  In  the  gay  society  of  the 
capital  many  men  avoided  the  responsibility  of  rearing  a 
family,  or  reluctantly  submitted  to  marriage  through  fear 
of  the  law.  With  the  decline  of  the  family,  once  the 
nursery  of  virtue,  Roman  society  became  thoroughly  cor- 
rupt; men  and  women  sought  pleasure  not  only  in  extrava- 
gant luxuries,  but  even  in  monstrous  vices  and  crimes. 
Morals  were  probably  at  their  worst  in  the  early  empire;  in 
the  reign  of  Vespasian  society  was  already  growing  better. 


The  House 


339 


The  private  life  of  the  Romans  was  far  more  secluded   The  Roman 
from  public  view  than  ours  is.      If  a  man  had  a  beautiful    dor 
garden,  he  surrounded  it  with  a  high  wall,  as  the  Italians 
do  at  the  present  day.     If  his  house  stood  on  the  street, 
he  gave  the  passers-by  no  opportunity  to  look  within.     The 
traveller  who  walks  through  the  narrow  streets  of  Pompeii 


House  Furniture 

(From  Pompeii.) 


sees  on  both  sides  plain  walls  with  a  few  small  windows 
opening  from  the  second  floor.  Two  thousand  years  ago  a 
visitor  at  one  of  these  houses  came  first  to  the  vestibule, 
a  narrow  entrance  court  from  which  a  hall  led  to  the  heavy 
oaken  door.  As  the  visitor  approached,  the  porter,  roused 
from  a  nap  in  his  little  lodge,  opened  the  door.  The  dog 
growled,  or  in  place  of  the  living  animal,  the  guest  perhaps 
saw  the  creature  represented  in  mosaic  on  the  pavement, 
with  the  words,  "Beware  of  the  dog  —  cave  canem  /' 


340 


Roman  Life 


The  dining 
rooms. 


The  atrium.  The  guest  entered  the  atrium,  where  he  found  the  lord 

of  the  house.  Originally  it  was  the  only  room;  but  as 
the  dwelling  grew  in  size  and  the  apartments  multiplied, 
it  came  to  be  used  chiefly  for  receiving  guests.  It  was 
roofed  over  with  the  exception  of  an  opening  in  the 
centre,  which  admitted  the  light  and  through  which  the 
rain  poured  into  a  square  basin  in  the  floor.  In  the  middle 
of  the  basin  was  a  fountain  adorned  with  beautiful  reliefs; 
and  the  entire  atrium  was  richly  decorated  with  costly 
pillars,  statues,  paintings,  and  purple  hangings.  On  the 
floor  were  fine  mosaics.  An  alcove,  termed  tablinum,  in 
the  rear  of  the  atrium  contained  the  family  archives,  and 
on  each  side  of  the  tablinum  was  a  recess, — a/a, — in 
which  nobles  kept  the  waxen  masks  and  other  portraits  of 
their  ancestors.  • 

Adjoining  the  atrium  and  in  various  quarters  of  the 
house  were  dining  rooms  termed  triclinia,  each  containing 
at  least  one  table.  Three  sides  of  the  table  were  occupied 
by  couches  on  which  the  luxurious  Romans  reclined  while 
eating  their  sumptuous  repasts.  A  board  on  the  fourth  side 
held  the  costly  vases  and  curiosities  of  the  proprietor;  and 
the  whole  room  was  lavishly  adorned  with  works  of  art. 

Theperistyie.  More  secluded  than  the  atrium,  yet  more  open  to  the 
sky,  was  the  peristyle,  an  inner  court  so  named  from  the 
columns  which  surrounded  the  large  uncovered  square  in 
the  centre.  This  open  space  contained  a  fountain  in  the 
midst  of  flower-beds  and  trees.  Around  this  court  were 
the  sleeping  rooms  and  other  private  apartments  of  the 
women,  whereas  those  of  the  men  were  often  grouped  about 
the  atrium.  There  were  also  a  kitchen,  elaborate  bath- 
rooms, and  sometimes  a  library.  This  description  applies 
to  the  first  floor.  The  Romans  piled  one  story  above 
another    till    Augustus    limited    the    height    of    houses    to 


Slaves  341 

seventy  feet.  The  upper  rooms  are  not  so  well  known, 
nor  could  they  have  been  so  attractive,  as  those  of  the 
ground  floor.  Indeed  the  Roman  deprived  himself  of 
many  private  comforts  that  he  might  make  a  rich  display 
before  his  guests.  The  wealthy  man's  dwelling  was  very 
large:  the  so-called  House  of  the  Faun  at  Pompeii  occu- 


Ff.ristvle  of  a  House  in  Pompeii 

(House  of  the  Vetti.) 

pies  an  entire  square;  that  of  the  Roman  noble  usually   262 by  125  ft. 
covered  a  Tar  greater  area. 

The  care  of  a  lordly  residence  required  the  service  of  a   Slaves, 
multitude  of  slaves;  we  hear  of  a  man  who  in  the  country 
and  city   together   employed    more    than    four  thousand.1 
They  were  organized,  somewhat  like  an  army,  in  divisions 
and  companies  under  their  several  overseers.     Each  ser- 

1  Athenaeus,  vi.    104,   makes   the   statement,   doubtless  exaggerated, 
that  a  Roman  sometimes  possessed  as  many  as  twenty  thousand  slaves. 


342  Roman  Life 

vant  had  as  his  special  duty  some  minute  part  of  the  house- 
hold work.  Many  were  needed  for  the  ceremonies  attending 
the  admission  of  guests,  many  for  the  care  of  the  baths, 
bedrooms,  kitchen,  and  dining  rooms,  as  well  as  for  the 
wardrobes,  toilet,  and  personal  service  of  the  various 
members  of  the  family.  On  going  out  the  master  or 
mistress  was  accompanied  by  a  throng  of  servants,  whose 
number  and  splendid  livery  advertised  the  rank  and  wealth 
of  their  owner.  Other  companies  of  slaves  spun  wool, 
made  clothes,  kept  the  house  in  repair,  and  cared  for  the 
sick.  There  were  some  whose  task  was  to  enforce  order 
and  quiet  among  the  rest.  We  could  hardly  believe  that 
so  many  persons  in  a  single  household  could  find  employ- 
ment or  that  the  processes  of  labor  could  be  so  minutely 
portioned  out,  did  we  not  take  into  account  the  genius  of 
the  Romans  for  organization.  On  the  country  estates  were 
ploughmen,  herdsmen,  vinedressers,  gardeners,  keepers  of 
bees,  poultry,  and  fish,  and  many  other  classes  of  laborers. 
Cruel  treat-  Slaves  not  born  in  the  household  were  obtained  by  war, 

kidnapping,  or  purchase ;  on  a  single  estate  one  might  see 
representatives  of  all  the  nationalities  of  the  known  world. 
As  a  rule  the  master  treated  them  with  extreme  harshness 
and  cruelty.  He  encouraged  quarrels  among  them  that 
they  might  not  join  in  plotting  against  his  own  life;  for 
the  slightest  offences  he  scourged,  tortured,  or  crucified 
them.  He  threw  them  into  the  ponds  to  feed  his  fish,  or 
to  the  wild  beasts  of  the  arena.  In  the  country  they  often 
worked  in  gangs  chained  together,  and  slept  in  crowded, 
filthy  dungeons.  Those  who  were  too  old  or  too  sickly  to 
work  or  to  put  on  the  market,  the  master  exposed  at  the 
shrine  of  Hisculapius  on  an  island  in  the  Tiber,  or  killed 
outright.  He  fed  and  clothed  all  poorly,  kept  them  at 
hard  labor,  and  when  they  were  worn  out,  he  bought  fresh 


ment 


Iviproi 'cd  Condition 


343 


ones.     This  inhuman  treatment  goaded  the  slaves  of  Sicily   P- 132. 

to  two  fierce  revolts,  which  Rome  subdued  with  great  diffi-    J*    '  ' 

1  ^  105-99  &x>* 

culty.     For  the  same  reason  a  multitude  of  those  in  Italy 
joined  the  insurrection  of  Spartacus  the  gladiator.    Slavery   p.  177. 
was  in   brief   the   economic,   social,  and   moral   curse  of 
Rome,  and  a  cause  of  her  downfall. 

In  the  imperial  period  men  and  women  gradually  learned   improved 
to  treat  their  slaves  with  greater  kindness.     Claudius  and 
other  emperors  after     __^^^^^^^^^^^^^^_^^^^^_    P.  226. 
him   made  laws  to 


check     the     worst 

abuses :  courts  were 

established  to  hear 

the    complaints    of 

those  who  were   ill 

treated;  the  killing 

of    a    slave    came 

to     be    punishable 

as    homicide;    and 

finally    the  jurists 

taught  that  the  law 

of  nature  had  made 

slaves   human   beings.       The    philosophers    preceded    the 

jurists    in  encouraging  kind  treatment  of   inferiors;    and 

indeed   from   various   causes    the    Romans  were   growing 

more  refined  and  humane.      We  hear  of  a  lady  as  tender 

as  a  mother  to  her  slaves;  we  know  also  that  those  of  Pliny 

the   Younger  enjoyed  substantially   the  rights  of  freemen 

and  at  the  same  time  the  care  of  an  affectionate  master. 

Originally,  too,  the  law  forbade  slaves  to  marry;  living 
together  in  an  informal  union,  a  slave  pair  had  no  right 
to  their  children.  Later,  however,  the  jurists  applied  the 
terms   husband  and  wife   to   those  who  had   formed   such 


A  Well-curb 

(Vatican  Museum,  Rome.) 


344 


Roman   Life 


Freedmen. 


Social  life. 
P.  252. 


unions,  and  Constantine  the  Great  forbade  the  separation 
of  the  slave  family. 

From  early  times  it  often  happened  that  a  slave  won  his 
freedom  by  faithful  service  or  purchased  it  with  his  savings. 
He  then  became  a  client  of  his  former  master,  whose  busi- 
ness it  was  customary  for  him  to  help  manage.  The  freed- 
men formed  a  large,  intelligent  class,  socially  inferior  to 
freemen,  but  very  enterprising  and  influential;  a  man  of 
this  rank  often  controlled  the  patron  whom  he  pretended 
to  serve.  Some  of  them,  after  accumulating  vast  wealth, 
became  intolerably  overbearing.  The  tendency  of  eman- 
cipation, however,  was  to  break  down  class  feeling  and 
privileges  in  favor  of  the  social  and  legal  equality  of 
mankind. 

The  imperial  household,  like  that  of  any  noble,  depended 

on  the  labor  of  slaves  and  freedmen.      In  the  morning  the 

emperor  received  the  magistrates,  senators,  courtiers,  and 

friends.     The  lengthy  ceremony  was  fatiguing  alike  to  guests 

and  host.      In  the  same  manner  the  nobles  received  their 

clients,  who   if  poor  were  given  their  daily  allowance  of 

twenty-five  asses,  — -the  equivalent  of  a  dinner;  candidates 

for  office  came  likewise  to  ask  for  the  favor  of  the  rich 

man's  influence.      Every  morning,  accordingly,  the  streets 

were  thronged  with  these  crowds  of  early  callers.     In  the 

afternoon   the   master   of   a  house  entertained   his  friends 

at  dinner,  or  perhaps  accepted  an  invitation  to  dine  out. 

Whereas    in    early   times    the    Romans   ate   sparingly  and 

drank   little  wine,    we   find  them    in   the   imperial   period 

taxing  to  the  utmost  the  resources  of  professional   cooks 

in    the   preparation   of    dainty   dishes,    or    ransacking  the 

world  for  costly  surprises  with  which  to  please  their  guests. 

Their  dinners  consisted  of  many  and  varied  courses;  they 

drank  rare  wines,  and  prolonged  their  revels  till  morning. 


Amusements 


345 


Meanwhile  they  were  entertained  with  music,  pantomimes, 
and  dancing  girls.  While  some  found  their  only  pleasure 
in  festive  gayety,  sensible  persons,  seeing  the  formalities 
of  society  demanding  so  large  a  share  of  their  time,  were 
glad  to  quit  Rome  for  a  period  of  quiet  life  at  Tibur, 
Laurentum,  or  some  other  country  retreat.  In  the  hot 
season  all  who  could  afford  it  forsook  the  city,  some  for 


A  Roman  Meal 


their  inland  villas,  others  for  the  seaside  resorts,  the  most 
famous  of  which  was  Baiae. 

The  amusements  of  a  people  throw  a  clear  light  upon  Amusements, 
their  character.  In  the  earliest  times  the  laborious  Romans 
contented  themselves  with  few  holidays  and  simple  recrea- 
tions; but  as  their  power  and  wealth  increased,  the  num- 
ber and  magnificence  of  their  public  festivals  grew,  till  in 
the  reign  of  Marcus  Aurelius  this  imperial  nation  enjoyed 
every  year  a  hundred  and  thirty-five  holidays  crowded  with 


346 


Roman  Life 


The  circus. 
P.  33- 


P.  315- 


The  chariot 
race. 

P.  139. 


The  arena 

gladiatorial 

shows. 


expensive  entertainments.  Among  the  most  popular 
amusements  were  the  chariot  races  in  the  Circus  Maximus. 
From  the  time  of  the  kings  this  building  increased  in  size 
till  under  the  Flavian  emperors  it  could  seat  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  spectators.  From  morning  till  evening, 
with  few  intervals  for  refreshment,  a  vast  crowd  watched 
with  intense  interest  the  succession  of  races  which  filled 
the  programme  of  many  a  holiday.  The  people  divided 
into  factions,  red,  white,  blue,  and  green,  named  from  the 
colors  of  the  charioteers.  Blue  and  green  came  to  be  the 
principal  emblems;  in  the  rivalry  of  the  factions  they 
represented,  the  populace  now  spent  much  of  the  excite- 
ment it  had  once  vented  in  the  political  contests  of  the 
Forum.  In  the  reign  of  Justinian  this  factional  strife  at 
Constantinople  broke  out  in  a  riot  which  came  near  over- 
powering the  government. 

Standing  upright  in  his  two-wheeled  car,  each  driver 
grasped  the  reins  of  his  four  horses,  which  were  harnessed 
abreast.  At  a  signal  from  the  sedile,  four  chariots  began 
the  race.  As  they  whirled  round  the  goal  at  either  end, 
there  was  extreme  danger  of  collision;  often  a  car  and 
team  were  overturned  and  the  driver  was  killed.  Mean- 
time the  others  sped  on  till  they  had  made  the  seventh 
round,  while  all  the  spectators  cheered  their  favorite  colors 
and  hooted  rivals.  The  victorious  driver  and  his  horses 
received  extravagant  honors. 

Apart  from  burdening  the  taxpayers  and  encouraging 
idleness,  the  sports  of  the  circus  did  little  harm;  those  of 
the  arena,  on  the  other  hand,  brutalized  the  spectators. 
The  Romans  adopted  gladiatorial  shows  from  Etruria,  in 
264  B.C.  At  first  they  exhibited  these  contests  at  funerals, 
doubtless  with  the  idea  of  offering  human  blood  to  the 
spirits  of  the  dead.     It  was  not  long,  however,  before  the 


The  Anna  347 

bloody  games  were  diverted  to  the  amusement  of  the  liv- 
ing. Schools  for  the  training  of  gladiators  were  opened 
at  Capua,  Praeneste,  and  in  several  other  places.  The 
masters  admitted  as  pupils  slaves,  prisoners  of  war,  con- 
demned criminals,  and  sometimes  citizens.  Pupils  under- 
went the  most  terrible  discipline  to  strengthen  their  bodies, 
to  inure  them  to  pain,  and  to  give  them  the  necessary  skill 
and  courage.  They  developed  the  utmost  variety  in  the 
use  of  weapons  and  modes  of  fighting,  that  the  spectators 
might  never  find  their  entertainments  monotonous. 

In  the  later  republic  the  taste  of  the  Romans  for  these   Brutality  of 
games  became   a  passion.      Candidates   for   office   bought 
favor  by   exhibiting    them  ;    and   when   single   combats   no 
longer  sufficed,   bands  of  gladiators  were   arrayed  against 
each  other.     To  celebrate  the  conquest  of   Dacia,  Trajan 
sent  ten  thousand  of  them  into  the  arena.     Besides  gladia- 
torial shows,  the  spectators   in  the   Colosseum    saw  fights   P.  235. 
between  men  and  savage  beasts  ;  to  rouse  a  keener  interest, 
the  managers  sometimes  bound  criminals  to  stakes  and  then 
let  wild  animals  loose  to  tear  in  pieces  the  helpless  victims. 
Statesmen  commended  these  inhuman  scenes  on  the  ground 
that  they  accustomed  the  spectators  to  blood  and  prepared 
them  to  face  death  in  battle.     Seneca  alone  raised  his  voice 
against  such  cruelty,  yet  in  vain.     Gradually  the  provincials 
adopted  these  bloody  sports  from  the  capital  and  they  con- 
tinued to  demoralize  the  world  till  in  the  reign  of  Honorius 
Christianity  brought  them  to  an  end. 

The  theatre,  if  less  brutal,  was  in  other  respects  equally   Theatres  and 

,  baths. 

depraved.  The  Romans  of  the  imperial  period  would  not 
endure  tragedy ;  and  comedy,  to  succeed,  had  to  be  inde- 
cent and  profane.  The  public  baths,  too,  were  morally 
pernicious.  In  fact  the  amusements  of  the  Romans  show 
them  coarse  and  inhuman.     In  the  late  republic  and  early 


348 


Roman  Life 


Death. 


Achieve- 
ments. 


empire,  morality  had  probably  reached  its  lowest  depth  in 
all  the  world's  history.  The  reason  is  well  known.  From  the 
beginning  the  Romans  were  without  ideals,  —  a  purely  prac- 
tical nation,  whom  wealth  and  power  served  only  to  render 
gross.  But  there  were  some  good  men  even  in  Rome,  while 
in  the  rural  districts  of  Italy,  and  still  more  in  the  provinces, 

life  remained  wholesome  ; 
the  good  outweighed  the 
evil. 

Whatever  his  charac- 
ter, a  man  had  at  some 
time  to  give  up  his  busi- 
ness or  pleasure,  and  die. 
Kinsmen  and  friends  took 
part  in  the  funeral  pro- 
cession. The  dancers, 
the  music,  the  acting  of 
the  mimes,  whose  leader 
mimicked  the  deceased, 
the  waxen  masks  worn  by 
persons  dressed  to  repre- 
sent the  ancestors,  the 
wailingof  hired  mourners, 
—  all  combined  to  make 
the  ceremony  at  once  sol- 
emn and  grotesque.  A 
near  kinsman  pronounced 
a  eulogy  on  the  deceased  ;  the  corpse  was  burned  on  the 
funeral  pyre  ;  and  an  urn  containing  the  ashes  was  deposited 
in  the  family  tomb. 

Individuals  and  nations  pass  away;  their  achievements 
are  the  world's  inheritance.  Conspicuous  among  the  works 
of  the  Romans,  their  art  expressed  their  character  with  mar- 


Cinekarv  Urn 

(Vatican  Museum,  Rome.) 


Art  349 

vellous  truth.     To  their  statesmen  it  served  to  glorify  power 

and  attract  the  people.     By  employing  the  round  arch  in 

vaults  and  domes,  by  adapting  the  Greek  column  to  decora-    Architecture. 

tive  purposes,  and  with  the  aid  of  most  skilful  engineering, 

they  gave  architecture  a  grandeur  of  design  and  a  variety  of 

combination  which  have  made  every  product  of  the  Orient 

and  of  Greece  itself  appear  immature  in  comparison.     The 

Pantheon,  the  Colosseum,  the   Baths,  and  the  Basilica  of 

Constantine  testify  to  this  superiority.     These  works  "  rest 

so  heavily  and  with  so  much  majesty  upon  the  earth  that    Duruy, 

we  may  take  them  as  a  figure  of  Roman  sway."     Following   A'""u''  vuu 

p.  380. 

close  upon  the  advance  of  sovereignty,  Roman  art  has  left 
relics  in  every  province  from  the  Euphrates  to  the  north  of 
England,  each  work  affected  by  local  color,  but  all  bearing 
the  stamp  of  the  imperial  city. 

Sculpture  expressed  in  no  less  degree  the  greatness  of  Sculpture, 
the  empire.  From  the  conquest  of  Greece  to  the  reign 
of  Augustus,  Greek  artists  found  in  Roman  patronage 
the  motive  for  a  renaissance  of  their  art.  The  repro- 
duction and  imitation  of  Hellenic  masterpieces  created  a 
Roman  school  of  sculpture,  which  produced  a  multitude 
of  portraits,  spirited  and  masterly,  in  dress  and  person- 
ality true  to  life.  Far  more  characteristic,  however,  are 
the  narrative  reliefs  traced  on  public  buildings,  triumphal 
arches,  and  columns,  —  chiselled  picture-books  of  Roman 
victories.     * 

Painting    experienced    a    similar   growth.      Roman    fres-    Painting, 
coes,    surpassing    those    of    Greece,    afforded    patterns    for 
early  Christian  art,  and  inspired  the"  masters  of  the  Italian 
renaissance. 

Another  achievement  of  Rome  was  character.     Our  hasty   character, 
glance  into  the  society  of  the  wealthy  at  the  time  of  their 
lowest  depravity  fails  to  do  the  nation  justice.     We  go  back 


35° 


Roman  Life 


in  history  to  the  era  before  the  Punic  Wars  to  find  citizens 
whose  superiors  the  world  has  not  known.  In  that  age  Duty 
and  Discipline  were  the  great  commandments  to  which  the 
family  and  society,  citizens  and  soldiers,  yielded  religious 
obedience.      It  was  the  heroic  qualities  of  those  men  of 


The  Boy  Hercules 

(Wall-painting,  Pompeii.) 

old  which  made  Rome  great ;  and  after  the  society  of  the 
capital  had  become  a  hotbed  of  vice,  the  legions  of  Italian 
peasants  and  of  provincials  kept  alive  for  centuries  longer 
the  soldierly  virtues  of  the  early  republic,  —  the  discipline 
of  Augustus  and  Hadrian  came  down  to  them  from  Cincin- 
natus   and   Papirius.      Corrupt   Rome   produced   individual 


Bibliography  35 l 

characters  grander  than  even  the  imaginary  beings  of  the 
dim  past.  "No  mythical  Brutus  was  so  noble  a  patriot  as 
either  of  the  Gracchi ;  no  gods  of  early  Rome  could  com- 
pare with  Csesar  and  the  best  emperors  in  power  and  will 
to  protect  and  bless  their  subjects. 

A  further  task  of  the  Romans  was   to  defend  European   Defenders 

ft  n  H  Xpfi  o  h  t*  i  £ 

civilization.  This  they  accomplished  in  their  wars  with  the  0{  Europe 
Carthaginians,  Parthians,  Persians,  and  Arabs.  It  was  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  the  future  of  the  world  that  Europe, 
instead  of  falling  into  dependence  on  Asia,  should  remain 
free  to  develop  the  genius  of  the  West.  Again,  the  Romans, 
after  taking  lessons  of  the  Greeks,  became  teachers  of  the 
European  nations.  Though  they  were  stern  masters,  often 
selfish  and  unscrupulous,  the  training  they  gave  was  most 
valuable.  From  them  Europe  learned  the  arts  of  peace  as 
well  as  of  war,  —  lessons  in  building  good  dwellings  and 
substantial  public  works,  in  forming  courts  of  justice  and 
municipal  governments,  lessons  in  law,  in  administration,  in 
obedience  to  authority,  and  finally  intellectual  education 
and  the  Christian  religion.  As  Rome  grew  old  and  declined 
in  power,  her  influence  extended  and  deepened ;  and  when 
she  fell,  the  heritage  of  her  civilization  and  discipline  passed 
equally  to  Romans  and  Teutons  —  her  children  by  birth  and 
adoption.  Grown  to  manhood,  these  sons  of  Rome  form 
to-day  the  great  family  of  Christian  nations  in  Europe  and 
the  Americas. 

Reading 

Preston  and  Dodge,  Private  Life  of  the  Romans  ;  Pellison,  Roman 
Life  in  Pliny's  Time  ;  Thomas,  Roman  Life  under  the  Ccesars;  Inge, 
Society  in  Rome  under  the  Ccesars;  Church,  Roman  Life  in  the  Days 
of  Cicero;  Becker,  G alius ;  Rydberg,  Roman  Days;  Bury,  Student's 
Roman  Empire,  ch.  xxxi;  Guhl  and  Koner,  Life  of  the  Creeks  and 
Romans;  Falke,  Greece  and  Rome,  their  Life  and  Art;   Rheinhard, 


352  Roman  Life 

Album  des  klassichen  Altertums  ;  Mau,  Pompeii,  its  Life  and  Art',  La 
Lieligion  Romaine,  bk.  Ill ;  Granger,  The  Worship  of  the  Romans  viewed 
in  Relation  to  Roman  Temperament ;  Friedlander,  Darstellungen  aits 
der  Sittengeschichte  Rams,  3  vols.;  Marquardt,  Privatleben  der  Romer, 
in  Marquardt  and  Mommsen,  Handbuch  der  romischen  Alterthumer, 
2  vols. 


CHAPTER    XVI 
HELPS  TO   THE   STUDY   OF   ROMAN    HISTORY 

Example  of  a  Topical  Outline 

THE   DEVELOPMENT   OE  THE   ROMAN   CONSTITUTION  DURING  THE 
FIRST    PERIOD   OF   THE    REPUBLIC    (509-264  B.C.) 

I.  General  Character. 

1.  The  number  of  magistrates  increases. 

2.  The  plebeians  win  equal  rights  with  the  patricians. 

3.  While  in  form  the  government  becomes  democratic,  in  fact  the  grada- 

tions of  rank  and  privilege  multiply. 

II.  Social  Ranks. 

1.  The  patricians  —  nobles. 

a.  Probable  origin  —  leadership  brings  wealth  and  honor;   these  qualities 

when  inherited  are  the  basis  of  nobility. 

b.  Other  theories  of  their  origin. 

(1)  That  they  are  the  original  settlers  (Mommsen). 

(2)  That  they  are  conquerors  (Ihne). 

c.  Original  rights  and  duties. 

(1)  To  sit  in  the  senate  as  well  as  vote  in  the  assemblies. 

(2)  To  be  priests,  judges,  magistrates,  and  commanders  of  the  army. 

(3)  To  serve  in  the  cavalry;   a  patrician  rarely  serves  on  foot. 

(4)  To  enjoy  the  use  (possessio)  of  the  public  land. 

(5)  To  intermarry  among  themselves   (ius  conubi);    to  buy,  sell,  and 

make  contracts  {ius  commerci). 

2.  Plebeians  —  commons. 

a.    Probable  origin  —  simply  the  people  as  distinguished  from  their  leaders, 
who  become  nobles. 
2  A  353 


354  Helps 

b.  Other  theories  of  their  origin, 
(i)    Alien  residents  (Mommsen). 
(2)    Conquered  subjects  (IhneJ. 

c.  Original  rights  and  duties. 

(1)  To  vote  in  the  assemblies. 

(2)  To  intermarry  with  one  another  but  not  with  the  patricians. 

(3)  To  buy,  sell,  and  make  contracts. 

(4)  To  serve  in  the  infantry. 

(5)  To  labor  on  the  public  works. 
Clients. 

a.  Origin  —  plebeians  who  have  placed  themselves  under  the  protection 

of  a  patron. 

b.  Public  rights  —  the  same  as  those  of  the  plebeians. 

c    Private  rights  (ins  commerci  and  conubi) — under  the  guardianship  of 

the  patron. 
</.    Relation  between  patron  and  client. 

(1)  Nature  of  the  relation. 

(a)  Like  that  of  parent  and  child. 

(b)  Religious  sanction  —  those  who  offend  are  accursed. 
(<:)    Hereditary. 

(2)  Patron  protects;    supervises  business;    helps  in  need. 

(3)  Client  follows  his  patron  in  war  (nearly  obsolete)  ;    votes  for  him; 

works  in  his  field  or  brings  gifts. 

(4)  Mutual  duty  —  not  to  vote  or  testify  against  each  other. 
Slaves  —  at  first  few;    rapidly  increase  as  a  result  of  successful  wars. 


111.   Assemblies. 


1.  Comitia  curiata. 

a.    Composed    of    all    citizens    meeting    under    a    consul    or    other    high 

magistrate. 
/'.    Voting  by  head  within    the  curia,  after    which  each  of  the  30    curiae 

casts  a  single  vote. 
c.    Controlled  by  the  magistrate,  the  auspices,  and  the  sanction    of   the 

senate  {patrum  auctoritas). 
</.    Its  functions  soon  become  purely  formal. 

2.  Comitia  centuriata. 

a.  Composed  of  all  citizens  meeting    under    presidency  of   a   consul    or 

other  high  magistrate. 

b.  Voting  by  head  within  the  century,  after  which   each  of  the   193  cen- 

turies   casts    a    single    vote.      The    knights    and    wealthiest    class 
command  a  majority  of  votes. 


Outline  of  the  Constitution  355 

c.   Controlled  by  the  president,  the  auspices,  and   (before  339  B.C.)  the 
patrum  auctoritas. 

</.    Chief  assembly  of  the  early  republic  —  functions :  — 

(1)  Legislation;   election  of  consuls,  censors,  and  pnetors. 

(2)  Declaration  of  aggressive  wars;   ratification  of  treaties. 

(3)  Appeals  from  the  decision  of  magistrates  in  capital  cases. 
Comitia  tributa. 

a.  Organized  in  471;   composed  of  all  landowners;    probably  after  339, 

of  all  plebeian  landowners;    after  312,  of  all  plebeians. 

b.  Each  tribe  casts  a  vote;    21   tribes  in  471;   gradually  increases    to  35 

(241).  Under  presidency  of  tribunes,  it  passes  plcbi  scita  (reso- 
lutions of  the  plebs),  and  elects  plebeian  officers;  under  the  consul 
or  prsetor  (after  449),  it  elects  lower  magistrates  (V.  11),  and 
rarely  passes  laws  {leges'). 

c.  Competence. 

(1)  Validity  of  resolutions. 

(a)    471-449  —  resolutions  binding  on  the  plebeians  only. 

fb)    449-287  —  resolutions  passed  with  the  consent  of  the  senate 

{senatus  consultum),  binding  on  all  the  citizens. 
(c)    After  287  —  the  senatus  consultum  unnecessary. 

(2)  Elects  lower  magistrates  (V.  11). 

(3)  Receives  appeals  from  the  decision  of  magistrates  in  case  of  fines. 

(4)  After  287  the  chief  legislative  assembly  (plelri  scita). 

J.    Controlled   by   presiding   magistrates   and    (449-287)    by   the   senatus 
consultum. 


IV.    Senate. 


Composition  and  organization. 

a.    Members  chosen  by  the  consuls;   after  the  Ovinian  Law  (339-312?) 

by  the  censors;   exclusively  patrician  till  about  400. 
/>.    Under  presidency  of  the  consuls,  who  invite  the  members  to  speak  in 

the    order    of  their  official    rank:     (1)    consular es    (ex-consuls); 
*        (2)   pralorii  (ex-prretors) ;    (3)    (cdilicii  (ex<ediles).      (4)    The 

pedarii  (who  have  filled  no  curule  office)  simply  vote, 
functions. 
a.    As  an  independent  body,  — 

(1)  Pilling  the  interregnum. 

(2)  Granting   the  patrum    auctoritas,  which    becomes  a  mere   form 

before  the  end  of  the  period. 
/>.    As  a  dependent  (advisory)  body,  — 

Issuing  the  senatus  consultum,  which  constantly  grows  in  importance 
till  it  becomes  the  chief  instrument  of  the  senate. 


356  Helps 

V.   Magistrates. 

1.  Two  consuls. 

a.    Original  functions. 

(i)    Presidency  of  senate  and  assembles;    initiative  in  legislation. 

(2)  Judges. 

(3)  Taking  the  census,    before    443;    choosing    senators,    before    the 

Ovinian  Law.  ' 

(4)  Command  of  the  army. 

(5)  General  administration. 

/'.    Large  authority  gradually  diminished  by  the  creation  of  new  offices. 

2.  Dictator  —  appointed   by  a  consul  to  take   absolute    control    in    time    of 

danger;    term  limited  to  six  months;    assisted  by  a  master  of  horse 
{111  agister  equititiu). 

3.  Treasurers  {qincstores  cerarii)  — at  first  assistants  of  the  consuls;    become 

independent  magistrates  about  449. 

4.  Tribunes  of  the  plebs. 

a.  Two  instituted   in  493;    four  after    471 ;    later    ten.      Elected    by    the 

curice;    after  471  by  the  tribes. 

b.  Functions. 

(1)  Protection  of  individual  plebeians  (auxiliuni). 

(2)  Presidency  of  the  plebeian  assembly. 

(3)  Power  to  fine,  imprison,  or  put  to  death  any  one  who  interferes 

with  them  in  the  exercise  of  their  duties. 

c.  Assistants  —  the  plebeian  rediles. 

J.    At  first  of  little  importance,  they  gradually  acquire  a  power  superior 
in  some  respects  to  that  of  the  consuls. 

5.  Decemvirs    for  codifying   the   laws  —  an    extraordinary    legislative    board 

,    which  takes  the  place  of  all  other  magistrates  in  451-449. 

6.  Military  tribunes  with  consular  power,  —  more  briefly,  consular  tribunes, 

444-367- 
a.    The  number  varies  from  three  to  six;    elected  instead  of  consuls  when- 
ever the  senate  so  decrees. 
/>.    Functions  —  the  same  as  those  of  the  consuls;    inferior  in  official  rank. 

7.  Two  censors. 

a.    Instituted   in  443;    elected   every  l\\c  years  as  a  rule;    complete  their 

work  in  eighteen  months. 
/>.    Functions. 

(1)  Census-taking;    they  assign  every  citizen  to  his  tribe  and  class; 

after  the  Ovinian  I  .aw,  they  revise  the  senate  list. 

(2)  Building  public  works;    k-tting  out  public  contracts. 

(3)  Censorship  of  morals. 


Outline  of  tJtc  Constitution 


357 


8.  Two   military  quaestors —  instituted   421,  to   take  charge  of  the  military 

chest.  . 

9.  Praetor. 

a.    Instituted  367. 
l>.    Functions. 

(1)  Judge  in  private  cases. 

(2)  Head  of  the  government  during  the  absence  <>f  the   consuls. 

(3)  Rarely  commander  of  an  army. 
wo  curule  sediles. 


10 


a.    Institute 


ju/- 


/>.    Functions. 

(1)  Supervision  of  streets,  public  buildings,  markets,  and  games. 

(2)  Fower  to  fine  for  offences  against  order  (police  court). 
11.    Classification  of  magistrates. 


curule 
magistrates 


non-curule 

matrist  rates 


higher 
( tnajares ) 


lower 
(minores) 


i 


dictator 

consuls 

censors 

praetor 

curule  sediles 

quaestors 

tribunes  of  the  plebs 

plebeian  cediles 


All  but  the  dictator  elected  by  the 
comitia  centuriata;  all  but  the 
censors  have  the  imperium. 

Elected  in  the  comi- 
tia tributa ;  they 
have  not  the  im- 
perium. 


y 


VI.   Development  of  Plebeian  Rights. 

1.  ( 'ondition,  509-493. 

a.  Constitutionally  they  possess  all   the  rights  of  citizenship  except   the 

right  to  hold   offices  ami   priesthoods  and   sit   in   the  senate. 

b.  In  fact  they  are  without  the  protection  of  the  laws  and  are  falling  int.) 

serfdom. 

2.  493-449  —  the  tribunes  of  the  plebs  try  to  secure  to  the  plebeians  the  pri- 

«■    vate  rights  granted  them  by  the  constitution. 

a.  By  protecting  individual  plebeians  from  oppression. 

b.  By  a  more  thorough  organization  of  the  plebs  (comitia  tributa,  471). 

c.  By  striving  to  provide  the  plebeians  with  lands. 

</.    By  the  codification  of  the  laws  (accomplished,  451-449). 

3.  449-367  —  the  tribunes,  representing  the  wealthier  plebeian  families,  strive 

for  the  right  to  hold  magistracies;    their  means  to  this  end  are :  — 

a.  The  Canuleian   Law,  445,  permitting  intermarriage  between  the  two 

ranks. 

b.  The  consular  tribunate,  444-367,  legally  open  to  plebeians. 


358  Helps 

(.    Opening  the  qusestorship  to  plebeians,  421 ;    first  plebeian  quaestors,  409. 
d.    Admission  of  plebeians  to  the  college  of  "  Keepers  of  the  Sibylline 

Books,"  368. 
e.    The  Licinian-Sextian  Laws,  which  provide  that  one  consul  must  be  a 

plebeian. 
367-287. 

a.  The  plebeians  continue  to  gain  admission  to  offices. 

(1)  Dictatorship,  356. 

(2)  Censorship,  351. 

(3)  Pnetorship,  337. 

(4)  Curule  aedileship,  304. 

(5)  College  of  augurs  and  of  pontiffs,  300. 

b.  The  assemblies  become  constitutionally  independent  of  the  senate. 

(1)  The  comitia  centuriata,  through  the  Publilian  Law,  339. 

(2)  The  comitia  tributa,  through  the  Hortensian  Law,  2S7. 

c.  Enrolment  of  the  landless  plebeians  in  the  tribes,  312. 

d.  Result  —  constitutionally  the  government  is  a  pure  democracy;    in  fad 

the  gradations  of  rank  and  privilege  have  multiplied  during  the 
period,  —  the  state  is  more  aristocratic  than  before  :  — 


RANKS   IN   THE   ROMAN-ITALIAN   POLITICAL   SYSTEM,  264. 

1.  Senators,  among  whom  are  several  official  ranks  (IV.  1  /'.). 

2.  Knights. 

3.  Members  of  the  country  tribes. 

4.  Members  of  the  city  tribes. 

5.  Citizens  without  the  right  to  vote. 

6.  Latins.  , 

7.  Italian  allies. 

8.  Gallic  subjects. 
q.  Slaves. 


Studies  359 

Studies 

CHAPTER    I 

i.  Compare  the  migration  of  the  Italians  into  Italy  with  the  migra- 
tion of  the  Greeks  into  Greece.  How  were  the  Greeks  and 
Italians  related?     Compare  their  early  life  and  institutions. 

2.  Compare  the  physical  features  of  Italy  with  those  of  Greece  (see 

maps).  How  far  do  the  situation  and  physical  features  of  these 
countries  explain  their  different  histories?  Had  the  harbors 
and  best  lands  of  Italy  been  on  the  east  coast,  what  difference 
would  this  have  made  in  the  history  of  the  peninsula? 

3.  Write    a  paper   on  the  "  Etruscans ";   on    the  "Greeks  in  Italy" 

(bibliography,  p.  16). 

4.  Describe  the  Po  valley;    the  character  and  customs  of  the  Gauls 

(Botsford,  Story  of  Rome,  ch.  i). 

5.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter  (see  model  outline,  p.^^U 

CHAPTER    II 

1.  Carefully  separate  the  history  from  the  myths;   give  an  account  of 

the  regal  period  without  referring  to  the  myths. 

2.  Show  how  the  city  on  the  Palatine  developed  from  the  tribal  and 

village  life  described  in  Chapter  I. 

3.  Trace  on  the  map  of  Rome  the  growth  of  the  city  during  the  pe- 

riod of  kings.  Where  were  the  various  public  works  of  this 
period? 

4.  Write  a  paper  on  the  "  Social  Ranks." 

5.  Compare  the  earliest  religious  ideas  of  the  Romans  with  those  of 

Greece  (Botsford,  Greece,  p.  15). 

6.  What  class  of  people  were  most  likely  to  be  displeased  with  the 

rule  of"  the  kings?  If  a  revolution  should  occur,  what  class 
would  profit  most  by  it? 

7.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter. 

CHAPTER   III 

I.  From  the  story  of  the  battle  of  Lake  Regillus,  what  information 
may  be  derived  regarding  (1)  the  dictator,  (2)  the  knights, 
(3)  the  mode  of  fighting? 


360  Helps 

2.  From  the  map  of  the  Vicinity  of  Rome,  describe  the  growth  of 

■  Rome's  territory  to  the  conquest  of  Veii;   describe  the  location 
of  all  the  races  named  on  the  map. 

3.  How  does  the  story  of  the  siege  of  Veii  (Botsford,  Story  of  Rome, 

ch.   iii)    illustrate   the   belief  of    the    Romans    in    omens    and 
oracles? 

4.  Trace  the  development  of  the  Roman  army  from  the  tribal  age  to 

the  end  of  the  first  period  of  the  republic  (264). 

5.  What  wars  of  the  period  covered  by  this  chapter  belong  to  the 

conflict  between  the  plain  and  the  hills? 

6.  Write  a  paper  on  the  "Samnites,  their  Country,  Life,  and  Institu- 

tions." 

7.  Compare  the  colonies  of  Rome  with  those  of  Greece. 

8.  Describe  the  Roman  organization  of  acquired  territory. 

9.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter. 

CHAPTER    IV 

1.  How   did    the    change   from  monarchy  to  republic  affect  (1)  the 

magistrates,  (2)  the  senate,  (3)  the  people? 

2.  Make  a  table  of  the  assemblies,  showing  the  composition,  organiza- 

tion, and  functions  of  each.     Which  was  the  most  popular,  and 
why? 

3.  Make  a  table  of  the  magistrates,  showing  the  date  of  institution 

and  the  functions  of  each. 

4.  (live  an  account  of  the  relations  between  the  patricians  and  plebe- 

ians during  this  period. 

5.  Write  a  paper  on  "  Marcus  Manlius";    on  the  "  Decemvirs";    com- 

pare  the   myth   of  Appius  Claudius  (Botsford,  Story  of  Rome, 
ch.  iv)  with  the  account  given  in  this  history. 

6.  Write  a  paper  on  the  "  Political  Condition  of  Italy  in  264"  (cf.  end 

of  Ch.  Ill);    draw  a  map  of  Italy,  distinguishing  the  various 
classes  of  communities. 

7.  What   material   do  you   find    in   Chapters  III,  IV,  and  the  corre- 

sponding chapters  of  Botsford,  Story  of  Rome,  for  a  paper  on 
the  "  Life  and  Character  of  the  Romans"  of  this  period? 

8.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter. 

CHAPTER  V 

I.    Write  a  paper  on  the  "Life  and  Institutions  of  the  Carthaginians"; 
on  the  "Carthaginians  in  Sicily"  (bibliography,  p.  127). 


Studies  361 

2.  Debate  the  question  whether  it  was  the  duty  of  Rome  to  begin  the 

First  Punic  War;    also,  whether  her  policy  of  acquiring  territory 
outside  of  Italy  was  wise. 

3.  Write   an   account  of  the  public  career  of   Flaminius;    of   Scipio 

Africanus  (bibliography,  p.  127). 

4.  Give  an  account  of  Hannibal's  crossing  the  Alps;    of  the  battle  of 

Lake  Trasimene  (Botsford,  Story  of  Rome,  ch.  v). 

5.  Why  did  Hannibal  fail  to  conquer  Rome? 

6.  Why  did  Rome  destroy  Corinth  and  Carthage? 

7.  What  provinces  did  Rome  acquire  during  this  period  (264-133), 

and  in  what  order?  Were  subject  allies  or  provinces  more 
serviceable  to   Rome? 

8.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter. 

CHAPTER    VI 

1.  Why  did  not  the   Romans  extend  their  federal  policy  to  territory 

acquired  outside  of  Italy?  Were  they  wise  in  adopting  the 
provincial  system? 

2.  Write    a    paper    on    the  "  Administration  of   the    Provinces"  (see 

especially  Arnold). 

3.  Compare  the  expansion  of  the  Roman  power  with  that  of  England 

and  of  the  United  States.  What  were  the  effects  of  the  Roman 
conquests  on  the  senate  and  people  of  Rome? 

4.  Write  a  paper  on  the  "  Life  and  Character  of  Cato  "  (bibliography, 

P-  15°)- 

5.  What  was  the  condition  of  Italy  and  the  provinces  which  at  the 

close  of  this  period  called  loudly  for  reform  ?  What  was  the 
condition  of  the  constitution  and  of  the  privileged  classes  at 
Rome  which  made  reform  practically  impossible? 

6.  What  privileges  and  what  degree  of  political  influence  did  each  of 

the  following  classes  enjoy  toward  the  end  of  this  period  :  nobles, 
knights,  city  plebs,  country  plebs,  Latins,  and  Italians?  In 
what  way  were  the  nobles  and  the  city  rabble  attached  to  each 
other? 

7.  What  effects  had  the  custom  of  furnishing  the  populace  with  cheap 

or  free  grain  (1)  on  those  who  received  the  favor,  (2)  on  the 
Italian  peasants? 

8.  What  changes  took  place  in  the  life  and  character  of  the  Romans 

during  this  period  (Chs.  V,  VI ;  Botsford,  Story  of  Rome,  chs. 
v,vi)? 

9.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter. 


362  Helps 


CHAPTER  VII 

1.  Give  an  account  of  the  early  life,  the  education,  and  the  public 

career  of  Tiberius  Gracchus  (Botsford,  Story  of  Rome,  ch. 
vii). 

2.  Write  a  history  of  the  Roman  peasants  (not  of  the  whole  plebeian 

body)  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  death  of  Gaius  Gracchus. 

3.  What  prevented  the  Gracchi  from  adopting  the  methods  of  reform 

which  Licinius  and  other  tribunes  of  earlier  time  had  pursued? 
Did  circumstances  justify  the  methods  of  the  Gracchi? 

4.  Throughout  the  period  treated  by  Chapters  VII,  VIII,  the  prin- 

ciples and  institutions  of  the  imperial  government  were 
developing.  What  did  the  Gracchi  contribute  to  this  develop- 
ment?    What  did  Marius  contribute? 

5.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  the  army  organization  from  the  earliest 

times  to  the  completion  of  the  reforms  of  Marius. 

6.  What  constitutional  law  was  violated  by  the  frequent  reelection 

of  Marius  to  the  consulship? 

7.  What  causes  of  discontent  had  been  growing  among  the  Italians 

from  the  time  they  fell  under  Roman  rule  to  their  revolt  ?  Are 
there  any  reasons  for  believing  that  they  would  have  founded 
a  better  state  than  Rome  ? 

8.  Why  did  Rome  grow  more  and  more  illiberal  in  bestowing  the 

citizenship  on  aliens? 

9.  After  the  Social  War,  how  did  the  various  classes  of  people  in 

Italy  —  nobles,  city  plebs,  peasants,  etc.  —  entertain  the  idea 
of  monarchy?  Why  should  some  support  the  existing  govern- 
ment more  than  others? 

10.  What  is  your  estimate  of  each  of  the  measures  of  Sulla?     What 

did  he  contribute  to  the  imperial  government  (cf.  4)  ? 

1 1.  Write  a  history  of  the  dictatorship  to  the  death  of  Sulla. 

12.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter. 

CHAPTER    VIII 

1.  In  what  respects  may  we  regard  Pompey  as  the  successor  of  Sulla? 

Why  did  the  Romans  love  Pompey  (Botsford,  Story  of  Rome, 
ch.  viii)? 

2.  Write  a  paper  on  the  "  First  Triumvirate  "  (bibliography,  p.  202). 
\.    What  provinces  did    Rome  acquire  in  the  period  from  133  to  27 

and  in  what  order  (map  for  Chs,  VII-IX)  ? 


Studies  363 

4.  Write  a  biography  of  Cicero?     What  is  your  estimate  of  his  pub- 

lic character  and  policy?  What  light  do  the  writings  of  Cicero 
throw  on  the  government  of  the  provinces  (Botsford,  Story  of 
Rome,  ch.  viii)  ? 

5.  Why  was  the  rule  of  one  man,  like  Caesar,  less  oppressive  to  the 

Roman  world  than  the  aristocracy  had  been  ? 

6.  Compare  Caesar  and   Caius  Gracchus    as    reformers.      Why  were 

both  killed? 

7.  How  far  is  Shakspere's  Julius  Caesar  historically  true?     Does  it 

show  a  partisan  bias?  Write  a  review,  or  criticism,  of  Davis,  A 
Friend  of  Casar. 

8.  Compare  the  First  and  Second  Triumvirates. 

9.  Write  a  sketch  of  the  literature  of  the  republic. 

10.  Why  did  the  republic  fall? 

11.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter. 

CHAPTER   IX 

1.  What  provinces  did  Rome  acquire  during  the  reign  of  Augustus 

and  in  what  order  (map  for  Chs.  VII-IX)  ? 

2.  In  what  respects  was  the  imperial  government  an  improvement  on 

the  republic?  What  class,  or  classes,  lost  by  the  fall  of  the 
republic?     What  classes  gained? 

3.  Compare  the  government  of  Augustus  with  that  of  Caesar. 

4.  Narrate  the  achievements  of  Augustus  from  his  own  account  of 

them  (Botsford,  Story  of  Rome,  ch.  ix). 

5.  Write  a  paper  on  the  "  Literature  of  the  Augustan  Age  ";  on  the 

"Pretorians"  (bibliography,  p.  223). 

6.  Compare  the  public  works  of  Rome  with  those  of  Greece  (cf.  Ch. 

XV). 

7.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  the  development  of  the  principles  and 

institutions  of  the  imperial  government  from  the  time  of  the 
Gracchi  to  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Tiberius. 

8.  Write   a  paper   on   the  "Character   of   Tiberius,"    drawing  your 

material  from  his  speeches  and  well-known  public  acts.  Care- 
fully exclude  the  imaginings  of  Tacitus  and  others  in  regard 
to  this  emperor's  motives  and  secret  deeds  (Tacitus,  Velleius 
Paterculus,  and  Suetonius). 

9.  What  republican  institutions  survived  under  Augustus? 

10.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter. 


364  Helps 


CHAPTER   X 

1.  In  what  respects  was  the  reign  of  Claudius  an  epoch  in  the  history 

of  the  empire? 

2.  (live   an   account    of  the   relations   between    the    prince    and    the 

senate  from  the  accession  of  Augustus  to  the  death  of  Domi- 
tian.     In  what  ways  was  the  senate  serviceable  to  the  prince? 

3.  Write  a  review,  or  criticism,  of  liulwer's  Last  Days  of  Pompeii. 

4.  What  improvements  came  to  the  provinces  under  the  Julian,  Clau- 

dian,  and  Flavian  emperors?  Why  did  Tiberius  and  Domitian 
wish  the  provinces  to  be  well  governed?  Why  did  the  nobles 
generally  dislike  an  emperor  who  protected  the  provinces? 

5.  Discuss  Roman  education  and  morals  under  the  Julian,  Claudian, 

and  Flavian  princes  (cf.  Ch.  XV). 

6.  Compare  Vespasian  and  Augustus. 

7.  Tell  the  story  of  the  eruption  of  Vesuvius  given  in  one  of  Pliny's 

Letters  (Botsford,  Story  of  Rome,  ch.  x). 
S.    Make  a  topical  outline  i>f  this  chapter. 

CHAPTER   XI 

1.  What  were  the  causes  of  the  good  feeling  and  prosperity  of  this 

period  (96-180)? 

2.  From    Pliny's   Letters  (Botsford,   Story  of  Rome,  ch.   xi),  what    do 

you  learn  of  the  condition  and  government  of  a  province?  How 
did  Rome  benefit  the  countries  which  she  subdued?  Were  the 
advantages  of  Roman  rule  greater  than  the  disadvantages? 

3.  What  acquisitions  of  territory  did  Rome  make  between  the  death 

of  Augustus  and  the  death  of  Trajan  (map  for  Chs.  X-XII)? 
Which  of  these  did  she  continue  to  hold  long  after  Trajan? 
Why  did  not  the  emperors  acquire  more  territory? 

4.  What  countries  were  civilized  before  they  came  under  Roman  rule? 

What  countries  were  barbarian?  What  kind  of  civilization  did 
Rome  give  the  conquered  barbarians? 

5.  What  changes  took  place  in  the  imperial  constitution  between  the 

accession  of  Augustus  and  the  death  of  Marcus  Aurelius? 

G.  Write  a  sketch  of  Christianity  from  its  origin  to  the  death  <>i  Mar- 
cus Aurelius. 

7.  If  you  had  been  a  provincial,  which  would  you  have  preferred, 
the  republic  or  empire?  If  you  had  been  a  resident  of  Rome, 
which  would  you  have  preferred?     Give  your  reasons. 


Studies  365 

8.  To   what   extent   did   the   condition   of    slaves  improve  under  the 

empire  (cf.  Ch.  XV)  ? 

9.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter. 


CHAPTER    XII 

1.  What  elements  of  weakness  and  decay  existed  in  the  empire  before 

Commodus?     What  new  causes  of  decline  were  added  in  the 
period  treated  in  this  chapter? 

2.  Give  an  account    of  the   relations  between  the  emperor  and  the 

senate  from  Augustus  to  Aurelian. 

3.  Trace  the  steps  by  which  the  provinces  became  Roman  in  language, 

civilization,  and  political  rights.     What  were  the  influences  of 
the  provinces  on  Rome? 

4.  Write    a    paper    on  "  Septimius    Severus";     on  "Palmyra"  (bibli- 

ography, p.  288). 

5.  Compare  the  century  of  revolution  between   Marcus  Aurelius  and 

Diocletian   with    the   century  of    revolution    from   republic  to 
empire. 

6.  In  what  respects  was  the  government  of  Diocletian  an  improvement 

on  that  of  the  Good  Emperors?     WTiat  can  be  said  in  justifica- 
tion of  Diocletian's  despotism? 

7.  Write  a  history  of  Christianity  from  the  death  of  Marcus  Aurelius 

to  the  death  of  Constantine. 

8.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

1.  Why  did  the  Eastern  branch  of  the  empire  continue  so  long  after 

Constantine?     Why  did  the  Western  branch  fall  so  soon? 

2.  Write  a  paper  on  "Julian"  (bibliography,  p.  309). 
Give  an  ticcount  of  the  relations  between  the  Germans  and  Rome 

from   the   time  of  Marius   to   the   breaking  of  the  Danubian 
frontier  by  the  Goths. 

4.  <  ompare  the  life  and  institutions  of  the  early  Germans  with  those 

of  the  early  Greeks  and  Romans. 

5.  Why  did  the  Greeks  and  Romans  become  civilized  before  the  other 

European  nations? 

6.  Describe  the  location  of  the  various  invading  races  of  barbarians 

as  they  were  about  476.     What  was  the  relation  of  their  chiefs 
to  Rome  before  this  date? 


J 


366  Helps 

7.  Were  there  two  empires  from  395  to  476,  or  two  branches  of  one 

empire  ? 

8.  What  did  the  Germans  give  the  empire  and  what  did  they  receive 

from  it  ? 

9.  Write  a  paper  on  the  Huns  (bibliography,  p.  309). 
10.    Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

1.  How  does  this  period  differ  from  the  preceding? 

2.  Compare  Theodoric  the  Ostrogoth  and  Clovis. 
How  far  did  the  reign  of  Justinian  benefit  Europe? 

4.  Write  a  paper  on    Mohammedan   art   and  science  (bibliography, 

P-  334)- 

5.  To    what    extent    did    Roman    civilization   in    Britain    survive    the 

Anglo-Saxon  conquest  ?     What  ruins  of  Roman  works  may  still 
he  found  in  England  ? 

6.  Name  in  their  order  the  great  empires  of  the  East  contemporary 

with  Rome.     Review  briefly  the  relations  of  each  with  Rome. 

7.  Write  a  summary  of  each  of  the  great  periods  of  Roman  history 

(753-5°9>  509-264  B.C.,  etc.). 

8.  Make  a  topical  outline  of  this  chapter. 


$ 


Events  in  Chronological  Order 

B.C. 

Remote  past     The  Tribal  Age  (before  the  founding  of  cities). 
753 (?)  The  Founding  of  Rome. 

753(?)-5°9       The  Regal  Period  —  Prehistoric. 


REPUBLIC 

^og-264  First  Period  of  the  Republic  — 

(a)  Rome    becomes  supreme  in   Italy. 

(b)  The  plebeians  win  their  rights. 

509  The  first  consuls. 

First  treaty  between  Rome  and  Carthage. 
498  The  first  dictator. 

496  Battle  of  Lake  Regillus  (mythical). 

495  The  twenty-first  tribe  formed. 

494-493  First  secession  of  the  plebs. 


Events  367 

B.C. 

493  First  plebeian  tribunes. 

Treaty  with  the  Latins. 

486  Treaty  with  the  Hernicans. 

Agrarian  bill  of  Spurius  Cassius. 

471  The  comitia  tributa  instituted. 

The  plebeian  tribunes  increased  to  four. 

462  Proposal  of  Terentilius  for  the  codification  of  the  laws. 

457  The  plebeian  tribunes  increased  to  ten. 

451-449  The  decemvirs. 

449  Second  secession  of  the  plebs. 

The  Valerian-IIoratian  Laws. 

445  The  Canuleian  Law. 

444  First  consular  tribunes. 

443  First  censors. 

431  Battle  of  Mt.  Algidus. 

421  First  military  quaestors. 

409  Plebeians  first  elected  to  the  qucestoi'ship. 

4C>5(?)-396  Siege  of  Veii. 

400  A  plebeian  first  elected  to  the  consular  tribunate. 

390  Sack  of  Rome  by  the  Gauls. 

387  The  tribes  increased  to  twenty-five. 

367  The  Licinian-Sextian  Laws. 

366  First  plebeian  consul. 

First  praetor. 

First  curule  sediles. 

358  The  tribes  increased  to  twenty-seven. 

356  First  plebeian  dictator. 

354  Treaty  with  Samnium. 

351  first  plebeian  censor. 

348  Second  treaty  with  Carthage. 

343-341  First  Samnite  War. 

340-338       -  Latin  War. 

jY)  The  Publilian  Laws. 

337  First  plebeian  praetor. 

332  The  tribes  increased  to  twenty-nine. 

326-304  Second  Samnite  War. 

321  Disaster  at  the  Caudine  Pass. 

318  The  tribes  increased  to  thirty-one. 

312-308  Appius  Claudius  Caecus  censor. 

300  First  plebeian  augurs  and  pontiffs. 

299  The  tribes  increased  to  thirty-three. 


368  Helps 

B.C. 

298-290  Third  Samnite  War. 

295  Battle  of  Sentinum. 

287  Third  secession  of  the  plebs. 

The  Hortensian  Law. 
281-272  War  with  Tarentum,  including  the 

2S0-275  War  with  Pyrrhus. 

280  Battle  of  Heraclea. 

279  Battle  of  Asculum. 

275  Battle  of  Beneventum. 

272  Surrender  of  Tarentum. 

266  Conquest  of  the  Gauls  south  of  the  Rubicon. 

Rome  mistress  of  all  Italy  south  of  the  Rubicon. 

264-1 j j  Second  Period  of  the  Republic  — 

(a)  Expansion  of  the  Roman  power  outside  of  Italy. 

(b)  Groivlh  of  plutocracy. 

264-241  First  Punic  War  —  for  the  possession  of  Sicily. 

260  Battle  off  Mylse. 

256  Great  battle  off  Ecnomus;    Regulus  invades  Africa. 

249  Defeat  of  Claudius  at  Drepana. 

247  Hamilcar  Barca  takes  command. 

241  Battle  of  the  .Fgatian  Islands. 

Peace  between  Rome  and  Carthage. 

The  tribes  increased  to  thirty-five. 
(?)  The  comitia  centuriata  reformed. 

241-238  Mercenary  war  in  Africa. 

237  Hamilcar  goes  to  Spain. 

232  Agrarian  Law  of  Gaius  Flaminius. 

229-228  First  Illyrian  War. 

227  The  prretors  increased  to  four. 

225-222  Gallic  War. 

219  Second  Illyrian  War. 

Hannibal  takes  Saguntum. 
218-201  Second  Punic  War. 

218-213  The  Scipios  conquer  Spain. 

218  Hannibal   crosses  the  Alps  ;  battle  of  the  Ticinus 

and  of  the  Trebia. 
217  Battle  of  Lake  Trasimene. 

216  Battle  of  Cannae. 

215-205  First  Macedonian  War. 


Events  369 


B.C. 


215  Syracuse  allies  herself  with  Hannibal. 

212  The  Scipios  beaten  and  killed  in  Spain. 

Syracuse  taken  by  Marcellus. 
211  Capua  taken  by  the  Romans. 

211-206  Publius  Cornelius  Scipio  (afterward  Africanus). recon- 

quers Spain. 
207  Battle  of  the  Metaurus. 

202  Battle  of  Zama. 

2di  Peace  between  Rome  and  Carthage. 

200-196  Second  Macedonian  War. 

197  Battle  of  Cynoscephalae. 

Two    Spanish    provinces    organized;     the   praetors    in- 
creased to  six. 
132-189  Asiatic  War. 

183  Battle  of  Magnesia. 

171-167  Third  Macedonian  War. 

168  Battle  of  Pydna. 

149-146  Third  Punic  War. 

146  Publius     Cornelius     Scipio     ^milianus     destroys 

Carthage. 

Mummius  destroys  Corinth. 

Macedonia  and  Africa  become  Roman  provinces. 
143-133  War  with  Numantia. 

I^8(?)-I32        First  Slave  War  in  Sicily. 

133-27  Third  Period  of  the    Republic  —  the    revolution  fro?n 

republic  to  empire. 
133-70  First    epoch    op    the    revolution — from     plutocracy    to 

militarism. 

133  Tiberius  Sempronius  Gracchus  tribune  of  the  plebs. 

♦    Numantia  destroyed. 

The  province  of  Asia  organized. 
123-122  Gaius  Sempronius  Gracchus  tribune  of  the  plebs. 

119  (laius  Marius  tribune  of  the  plebs. 

1 13-105  The  Cimbri  and  Teutons  invade  Caul. 

1 12-106  The  Jugurthine  War. 

102  Marius  defeats  the  Teutons  at  Aquae  Sextise. 

101  Marius  and  Catulus  defeat  the  Cimbri  at  Yercellre. 

100  Saturninus  tribune  of  the  plebs  ;  Glaucia  praetor. 

91-88  The  Social  War. 

2  B 


370  Helps 

B.C. 

88  Sulpicius  tribune  of  the  plebs. 

88-84  First  War  witn  Mithridates. 

87-84  China  leader  of  the  popular  party  at  Rome. 

83-81  Second  War  with  Mithridates. 

83-82  Civil  war  between  Sulla  and  the  popular  party. 

82  Sulla's  proscriptions. 

82-79  Sulla  dictator. 

79-^7  Second  epoch  of  the  revolution  —  the  military  power  in 
conflict  with  the  republic. 

76  Pompey  goes  to  Spain. 

74-63  Third  War  with  Mithridates. 

73-71  War  with  Spartacus. 

72  Sertorius  murdered. 

70  Pompey  and  Crassus  consuls  ;  Sulla's  constitution 

overthrown. 

67  The  Gabinian  Law. 

66  The  Manilian  Law. 

63  Cicero  consul  ;  conspiracy  of  Catiline. 

60-53  The  First  Triumvirate. 

58-50  Conquest  of  Gaul. 

56  Conference  at  Luca;   triumvirate  renewed. 

53  Battle  of  Carrhce. 

49-45  Civil  war  between  Caesar  and  the  republic. 

48  Battle  of  Pharsalus. 

47  Caesar  in  Egypt ;  battle  of  Zela. 

46  Battle  of  Thapsus. 

45  Battle  of  Munda;  Caesar  supreme. 

44  Caesar  murdered. 

44-31  Civil  Wars. 

43-27  Second  Triumvirate;   in  36  Lepidus  drops  from  the 

board;   after  31  Octavianus  is  sole  triumvir. 

42  Battles  of  Philippi. 

31  Battle  of  Actium ;  Octavianus  supreme. 

EMPIRE 

27  B.c.-jf  A.D.  Dyarchy  ;  the  Julian  emperors. 

27  B.C.  Octavianus  receives  the  title  Augustus. 

27B.C.-14A.D.   Augustus  emperor. 

12-9  B.C.  Campaigns  of  Drusus  in  Germany. 


Events  17 1 


A.D. 


Overthrow  of  Varus  by  the  Germans. 

Tiberius  emperor. 

Campaigns  of  Germanicus  in  Germany. 

Tiberius  retires  to  Capri. 

Gaius  Caesar  Caligula  emperor. 

77-96  From  Dyarchy  to  Monarchy  :  the  Claudian  and  Flavian 

emperors.  : 

Claudius  emperor. 

Conquest  of  Britain  begun. 

Nero  emperor. 

Military   revolution;     three    emperors  —  Galba,    Oih", 
and  Vitellius — in  rapid  succession. 
69-79  Vespasian  emperor. 

70  Jerusalem  taken  and  destroyed  by  Titus. 

79-81  Titus  emperor. 

70  Pompeii  and  Herculaneum  destroyed  by  an  erupt  inn  of 

Vesuvius. 
81-96  Domitian  emperor. 

85  Conquest  of  Britain  completed  by  Agricola. 

96-180  Limited  Monarchy  ;  the  Jive  "  Good  du///>crors." 

96-98  Nerva  emperor. 

98-117  Trajan  emperor. 

101-106  Conquest  of  Dacia. 

1 1 5-1 1 7  Trajan's  campaigns  in  the  East. 

1 17-138  Hadrian  emperor. 

138-161  Antoninus  Pius  emperor. 

1 61-180  Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus  emperor. 

167-175  First  War  with  the  Marcomanni. 

178-180  Second  War  with  the  Marcomanni. 

j8o-jJ7  Growth    of    absolute    monarchy;   from    Commodus   to 

Constantine. 

180-192  Commodus  emperor. 

193  Pertinax  emperor;   Julianus  emperor. 

193-21 1  Septimius  Severus  emperor. 

211-217  Caracalla  emperor. 

All  freemen  in  the  empire  become  Roman  citizens. 


372  Helps 

A.D. 

217-218  Macrinus  emperor. 

218-222  Elagabalus  emperor. 

222-235  Alexander  Severus  emperor. 

226  The  new  Persian  empire  founded. 

235-238  Maximinus  emperor. 

238-243  Gordian  emperor. 

241-243  Philip  colleague  of  Gordian. 

244-249  Philip  sole  emperor. 

249-251  Decius  emperor. 

251-253  Gallus  emperor;   kills  his  colleague  Hostilianus. 

253  /Emilianus  emperor;    deposed  by  Valerian,  who  takes 
his  son  Gallienus  as  colleague. 

260  Valerian  taken  captive  by  Sapor,  king  of  Persia. 
The  so-called  Thirty  Tyrants. 

268-270  Claudius  emperor. 

270-275  Aurelian  emperor. 

272  Zenobia  conquered. 

275-276  Tacitus  emperor. 

276-282  Probus  emperor. 

282-284  Carus  emperor. 

284-305  Diocletian  emperor. 

Reorganization  of  the  empire. 

285-305  Maximian  colleague  of  Diocletian. 

305-306  Constantius  and  Galerius  emperors. 

306  Severus    succeeds    Constantius    as    colleague    of    Ga- 
lerius;   the  latter  continues  to  reign  till  bis  death, 

3"- 
306-324  A  succession  of  civil  wars,  which  end  in  making  Con- 

stantine  the  Great  sole  emperor. 

313  Edict  of  Milan  granting  the  Christians  toleration. 

324-337  Constantine  sole  emperor. 

Further  reorganization  of  the  empire. 

325  The  council  at  Nicaea. 

JJJ-J76  The  invasions  of  the  barbarians  ;  the  dissolution  of  the 

empire  in  the   West. 

337  Constantine,  Constantius,  and  Constans  succeed  thejj 

father  Constantine  the  Great. 
355  Julian  colleague  of  Constantius, 

357  Julian  defeats  the  Alcmanni. 


Events  373 

A.D. 

361-363  Julian  sole  emperor. 

363-364  Jovian  emperor. 

364-375  Valentinian  emperor  in  the  West. 

364-378  His  brother  Valens  emperor  in  the  East. 

375  Valentinian  II  and  Gratian  emperors  in  the  West. 

376  The  Visigoths  cross  the  Danube. 

378  Defeat  and  death  of  Valens  at  Hadrianople. 

379  Theodosius  emperor  in  the  East. 

383  Maximus  colleague  of  Valentinian  II. 

394_395  Theodosius  sole  emperor. 

395  Death  of  Theodosius  ;  division  of  the  empire  between 
his  sons,  Arcadius  and  Honorius  ;  Arcadius  emperor 
in  the  East  and  Honorius  in  the  West. 

402  Alaric  invades  Italy;    battle  of  Pollentia. 

406  Vandals,  Sueves,  and  others  invade  Gaul. 

408  Theodosius  II  emperor  in  the  East. 

408-410  Alaric  besieges  and  plunders  Rome. 

410  The  Vandals  and  Sueves  settle  in  Spain. 

414  Ataulf  marries  Placidia. 

418  The  Visigoths  settle  in  Gaul. 

425  Valentinian  III  emperor  in  the  West. 

429  The  Vandals  invade  Africa. 

449  The  Saxons  under  Hengist  and  Horsa  invade  Britain. 

450  Martian  emperor  in  the  East. 

451  Attila  the  Hun  invades  Gaul ;  battle  of  Chalons. 

455  Maximus  emperor  in  the  West. 
Avitus  emperor  in  the  West. 

456  Patrician  Ricimer  overthrows  Avitus  and  makes  Mar- 

jorian  emperor. 
Leo  I  emperor  in  the  East. 
461  Ricimer  makes  Severus  emperor  in  the  West. 

467  *     Ricimer  makes  Anthemius  emperor. 

472  Ricimer  makes  Olybrius  emperor;    Ricimer    and    Oly- 

brius  die. 

473  Glycerius  emperor  in  the  West. 

474  Leo  II,  then  Zeno,  emperor  in  the  East. 
Julius  Nepos  emperor  in  the  West. 

475  Romulus  "Augustulus"  emperor  in  the  West. 

476  Romulus   "Augustulus"  deposed;   reunion  of  the 

East  and  West ;   Odoacer  patrician  and  king  of 
Italy. 


374  HelPs 

A.n. 
4fb-8oo  The  new  German  nations  to  the  founding  of  the  empire 

of  Charlemagne. 

477  Death  of  Gaiseric. 

486  Clovis  conquers  the  Romans  at  Soissons. 

489-493  Theodoric  conquers  Odoacer. 

491  Anastasius  I  emperor. 

493  553  Ostrogothic  kingdom  in  Italy. 

4g6  Clovis  accepts  Christianity. 

51 1  Death  of  Clovis. 

518  Justin  I  emperor. 

526  Death  of  Theodoric  the  Ostrogoth. 

527-565  Justinian  I  emperor. 

533_534  Belisarius  conquers  the  Vandals. 

535-540  Belisarius  conquers  Italy. 

541-553  Revolt  and  subjugation  of  the  Ostrogoths. 

S°5_57^  Justin  II  emperor. 

568  The  Lombards  invade  Italy. 

582  Maurice  emperor. 

590  Gregory  the  Great  becomes  pope. 

602  Phocas  emperor. 

610-641  Heraclius  emperor. 

622  Mohammed  flees  from  Mecca  to  Medina  ( the  Hegira). 

628-638  Dagobert  king  of  the  Franks. 

711  The  Mohammedans  invade  Spain. 

717  Leo  III  (the  Isaurian)  emperor. 

732  Battle  of  Poitiers  (Tours). 

751  Pippin  king  of  the  Franks. 

768  Charles  and  Carloman  succeed  their  father.  Pippin. 

77i  Charles  the  Great  sole  king  of  the  Franks. 

780  Constantine  VI  emperor;   Irene  regent. 

797-802  Irene  empress. 

800  Charles  the  Great  crowned  emperor  in  the  West. 

Bibliography 

For  the  convenience  of  purchasers,  the  titles  of  works  on 
Roman  history  are  here  arranged,  according  to  their  relative 
importance,1  in  "libraries."  Considerable  reduction  in  these 
prices  can  often  be  obtained. 

1  For  the  value  of  the  principal  works,  see  Adams,  Manual  of  Historical 
Literature  (Harpers). 


Bibliography 


375 


I.     The  Smallest  Library 


TWENTY   VOLUMES 


Allcroft  and  Masom,  Early  Principate.     New  York  :  Hinds  and 

Noble.     ($.60.) 
Arnold,    Rowan   System   of   Provincial  Administration.     New 

York:  Macmillan.     (Out  of  print.) 
Beesly,   Gracchi,  Marius,  and  Sulla.      New  York :    Scribners. 

($1.00.) 
Botsford,   The   Story  of  Rome  as  Greeks  and  Romans   tell  it 

(chiefly  biography  and  character,  from  the  sources).     New 

York:  Macmillan.      (In  preparation.) 
Capes,  Age  of  the  Antonines.     New  York:  Scribners.     ($1.00.) 
How  and    Leigh,   History   of  Rome.      New  York :    Longmans. 

($2.00.) 
I  line.  Early  Rome.     New  York  :   Scribners.     ($1.00.) 
Kiepert,  Atlas  Antiquus.     Boston :  Sanborn.     ($2.00.)      * 
Lanciani,  Ruins  and  Excavations  of  Ancient  Rome.      Boston  : 

Houghton,  Mifflin.     ($4.00.) 
Mackail,  Latin  Literature.     New  York  :  Scribners.     ($1.25.) 
Merivale,  Roman  Triumvirates.    New  York  :  Scribners.    ($1.00.) 
Mommsen,  History  of  Rome,  5  vols.     Scribners.     ($10.00.) 
Pellison,  Roman  Life  in  Pliny's  Time.    Meadville,  Penn. :  Flood 

and  Vincent.     ($1.00.) 
Pelham,    Outlines   of  Roman   History.      New  York :    Putnams. 

($i-75-) 
Smith,  Rome  and  Carthage.     New  York  :   Scribners.     ($1.00.) 

Tozer,  Classical   Geography   (primer).      New  York:    American 

Book  Co.     ($.35.) 


II.     A  Good  Library 

FIFTY   VOLUMES 

The  books  named  above,  and  in  addition,  — 

Livy,  History  of  Rome,  translated    by  Spillan   (Bohn).  4  vols. 

New  York  :  Macmillan.     ($4.00.) 
Plutarch,  Lives,  translated  by  Stewart  and  Long  (Bohn),  4  vols. 

New  York  :  Macmillan.     ($4.00.) 


376  Helps 

Tacitus,   Annals,    translated   by   Church  and    Brodribb.      New 

York:  Macmillan.      ($2.00.) 
Capes,  Ear ly  Empire.     New  York:  Scribners.     ($1.00.) 
Duruy,  History  of  Rome,  8  vols.     Boston  :  Jewett. 
Fling,  Greek  and  Roman  Civilization  (selections  from  the  sources, 

with  questions).      Lincoln,  Neb.  :   Miller. 
Fowler,  Ccesar  (Heroes).     New  York  :  Putnams.     ($1.50.) 
Ihne,  History  of  Rome,  5  vols.     New  York:  Longmans. 
Mau,  Pompeii,  its  Life  and  Art.    New  York  :  Macmillan.    ($6.00.) 
Preston    and    Dodge,   Private    Life   of  the  Romans.      Boston : 

Sanborn.      ($1.00.) 
Shuckburgh,  History  of  Rome.    New  York  :  Macmillan.     ($1.75.) 
Strachan-Davidson,    Cicero    (Heroes).      New    York:    Putnams. 

($1.50.) 
Thomas,  Roman  Life  under  the  Cicsars.     Putnams.      ($1.75.) 


»  III.     A  Lakgek  Liisraky 

A    HUNDRED    VOLUMES 

The  books  named  above,  and  in  addition, — 

Appian,  Roman  History,  translated  by  White,  2  vols.  New 
York:   Macmillan.      ($3.00.) 

Augustus,  Deeds  {Monument um  Ancyranum),  translated  by 
Fairley,  in  Translations  and  Reprints  from  the  Original 
Sources  of  European  History,  V.  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Ca:sar,  Commentaries,  translated  (Bohn).  New  York:  Mac- 
millan.    ($1.00.) 

Cicero,  Republic,  edited  and  translated  by  Hardingham.  London  : 
Quaritch. 

Horace,  Works,  translated  by  Martin,  2  vols.  New  York: 
Scribners.  ($8.40.)  Odes,  translated  by  Gladstone  (verse). 
New  York  :  Scribners.     ($1.50.) 

Juvenal.  Persius,  Sulpicia,  and  Lucilius,  Satires,  translated  by 
Evans  and  Clifford  (Bohn).    New  York:  Macmillan.    ($1.00.) 

Polybius,  Histories,  translated  by  Shuckburgh,  2  vols.  Mac- 
millan.    ($6.00.) 

Sallust,  Florus,  and  Velleius  Paterculus,  translated  by  Watson 
(Bohn).     Macmillan.     ($1.00.) 


Bibliography  377 

Suetonius,  Lives  of  the  Ca-sars,  translated  by  Thomas,  revised  by 
Forester  (Bohn).     Macmillan.     ($1.50.) 

Tacitus,  Histories,  translated  by  Church  and  Brodribb.  Mac- 
millan.    ($1.60.) 

Vergil,  .Eneid,  translated  by  Crane  (verse).  New  York:  Baker, 
Taylor.     ($1.75.) 

Becker,  Callus.     New  York  :   Longmans.     ($1.25.) 

Botsford,  Composition  of  the  Roman  Assemblies  (a  paper  in 
preparation). 

Bulwer,  Last  Days  of  Pompeii  (a  novel).  Boston:  Little, 
Brown  &  Co.      ($1.25.) 

Bury,  Student's  Roman  Empire.  New  York:  American  Book 
Co.     ($1.50.) 

Church,  Roman  Life  in  the  Days  of  Cicero.  New  York  :  Mac- 
millan.     ($.50.) 

Davis,  A  Friend  of  Cccsar  (a  novel).     New  York:    Macmillan. 

($1.50.) 

Fowler,    City-state   of  the   Creeks   and  Romans.      New   York: 

Macmillan.     ($1.00.) 
Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  edited  by  Bury, 

7  vols.     New  York  :   Macmillan.      ($14.00.) 
Granger,  The  Worship  of  the  Romans  viewed  in  Relation  to  the 

Roman  Temperament.     London  :  Methuen. 
Gregorovius,     Emperor    Hadrian.      New    York  :      Macmillan. 

($4.00.) 
Guhl  and  Koner,  Life  of  the  Creeks  and  Romans.     New  York  : 

Scribners.     ($2.75.) 
Hatch,  Organization  of  the  Early  Christian  Churches.     Oxford 

and  Cambridge  :  Rivingtons. 
Hill,  Handbook  of  Creek  and  Roman  Coins.     New  York  :  Mac- 
millan.    ($2.25.) 
Inge,  Society  in  Rome  under  the  Ccxsars.     New  York  :  Scribners. 

($1-25.) 

Kiepert,  Manual  of  Ancient  Geography.  New  York :  Mac- 
millan.    ($1.50.) 

Merivale,  History  of  the  Romans  under  the  Empire,  6  vols. 
New  York  :  Appletons.     ($12.00.) 

Morris,  Hannibal  (Heroes).     New  York  :   Scribners.      ($1.50.) 

Ramsay,  The  Church  in  the  Roman  Empire  before  170  A.D. 
New  York  :  Putnams.     ($3.00.) 


378  Helps 

Schreiber,   Atlas   of  Classical  Antiquities.     New    York :    Mac- 

millan.     ($6.50.) 
Seeley,   Roman   Imperialism.      Boston :    Little,    Brown   &   Co. 

($1.00.) 
Sienkiewicz,  Quo    Vadis  (a  novel).     Boston:    Little,  Brown  & 

Co.     ($1.50.) 
Taylor,    Constitutional  and  Political  History    of    Rome  from 

the  Earliest  Times  to  the  Reign  of  Domitian.      London : 

Methuen. 
Wickhoff,  Roman  Art:  Some  of  its  Principles  and  their  Appli- 
cation to  Early  Christian  Painting.     New  York  :  Macmillan. 

($8.00.) 

IV 

The  following  books  also  are  valuable  :  — 

Cicero,  Letters,  translated  by  Shuckburgh,  4  vols.  (Bohn).     New 

York:  Macmillan.     ($6.00.) 
Diodorus  Siculus,  Historical  Library.     London,  18 14.     (Out  of 

print.) 
Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus,  Roman  Antiquities,  translated  by 

Spelman.     London,  1758.     (Out  of  print.) 
Josephus,  Antiquities  of  the  feivs ;  Jewish    War,  translated  by 

Whiston,  revised  by  Shilleto,  5  vols.  (Bohn).     New  York: 

Macmillan.     ($5.00.) 
Justin,  Nepos,  and  Eutropius,  translated    by  Watson   (Bohn). 

New  York  :  Macmillan.     ($1.50.) 
Marcus  Aurelius,  Meditations,  translated  by  Long  (Bohn).     New 

York:  Macmillan.     ($1.00.) 
Pliny,  Letters,  translated  by  Church  and  Brodribb.    Philadelphia : 

Lippincott.      ($.50.)     Or,  translated  by  Melmoth  (Bohn). 

New  York:  Macmillan.     ($1.50.) 
Tacitus,  Ger mania,  translated  by  Church  and  Brodribb.     New 

York:  Macmillan.     ($1.25.) 
Beesly,  Catiline,  Clodius,  and  Tiberius.     London  :  Chapman  and 

Hall. 
Boissier,  Cicero  and  his  Friends.    New  York  :  Putnams.     ($1.75  •) 

The  Country  of  Horace  and  Virgil.      Putnams.     ($2.00.) 

Roman  Africa.      Putnams.     ($1.75.)     Rome  and  Pompeii. 

Putnams.      ($2.50.) 


Bibliography  379 

Church,  Story  of  Carthage  (Nations).      New  York  :    Putnams. 

($1.50.)     Stories  from  Livy.     New  York:   Dodd,  Mead  & 

Co.     ($1.50.) 
Cruttvvell,  History  of  Roman  Literature.     New  York  :   Scribners. 

($2.50.) 
Cunningham,  Western  Civilization  in  its  Economic  Aspects.     New 

York:  Macmillan.      ($1.25.) 
Dodge,  Ca>sar  (Great  Captains).     Boston:   Houghton.  Mifflin. 

($5.00.)     Hannibal  (Great  Captains).     Houghton,  Mifflin. 

($5.00.) 
Dyer,   City  of  Rome :  its   I  Ticissitudes  and  Monuments  from  its 

Foundation  to  the  End  of  the   Middle  Ages.     New  York  : 

Macmillan.     ($1.50.) 
Falke,  Greece  and  Rome,  their  Life  and  Art.     New  York  :  Holt. 

($10.00.) 
Forsyth,  Life  of  Marcus  Tullius  Cicero.     New  York:  Scribners. 

($2.50.) 
Freeman,  History  of  Federal  Government  in  Greece  and  Italy. 

New  York  :  Macmillan.     ($3.75.)    Story  of  Sicily  (Nations). 

New  York  :   Putnams.     ($1.50.) 
Froude,  C&sar  —  A  Sketch.     New  York  :  Scribners.     ($1.50.) 
Goodrich,   Topics  on  Greek  and  Roman  History.      New  York  : 

Macmillan.     ($.60.) 
Hadley,  Introduction  to  Roman  Law.     New  York :    Appleton. 

($1.25.) 
Hall,  The  Romans  on  the  Riviera  and  the  Rhone.     New  York  : 

Macmillan.     ($2.00.) 
Holmes,  Casar's  Conquest  of  Gaul.     Macmillan.      ($6.50.) 
How,  Hannibal  and  the  Great  War  between  Rome  and  Carthage. 

London :   Seeley. 
Lanciani,   Ancient   Rome   in  the   Light   of  Recent  Discoveries. 

Boston  :  Houghton,  Mifflin.     ($6.00.)     Pagan  and  Christian 

Rome.     Houghton.  Mifflin.    ($6.00.)     Destruction  of  Ancient 

Rome.     New  York :  Macmillan.     ($2.00.) 
Long,    Decline    of    the    Roman    Republic,    5     vols.      London : 

Bell. 
Middleton,   Remains   of  Ancient  Rome,    2    vols.      New    York  : 

Macmillan.     ($7.00.) 
Mommsen,  Provinces  of  the  Ron/an  Empire  from  Augustus  to 

Diocletian,  2  vols.     New  York  :   Scribners.      ($6.00.) 


380  Helps 

Montesquieu,  Grandeur  and  Decadence  of  the  Romans.     New 

York:  Appletons.      ($2.00.) 
Muirhead,  Roman  Law.     New  York  :  Macmillan.     ($5.00.) 
Pelham,   The  imperial   Domains   and  the    Colonate.     London : 

Frowde.     ($-30.) 
Reber,  History  of  Ancient  Art.     New  York  :  Harpers.     ($3.50.) 
Rheihhard,   Album   des   klassischen    Alter/urns   (76   pictures    in 

colors).     Stuttgart. 
Rydberg,  Roman  Days.     New  York  :  Putnams.     ($2.00.) 
Sellar,  Roman  Poets   of  the  Augustan  Age,    2    vols.     Oxford  : 

Clarendon  Press.     ($2.25.) 
Simcox,   History    of   Latin    Literature,    2    vols.      New   York: 

Harpers.     ($4.00.) 
Smith,  Carthage  and  the  Carthaginians.     New  York  :  Longmans. 

($1.25.) 
Tozer,  History  of  Aticient  Geography .     New  York  :  Macmillan. 

($2.60.) 

V 

On  the  Period  from  Constantine  to  Charlemagne  :  — 

Ammianus  Marcellinus,  Roman  History,  translated  by  Yonge 
(Bohn).     New  York  :  Macmillan.     ($2.25.) 

Julian  the  Emperor,  Works,  translated  by  King  (Bohn).  New 
York:  Macmillan.     ($1.50.) 

Mohammed,  The  Qur\in  (Koran),  translated  by  Palmer.  Oxford. 

Translations  and  Reprints  from  the  Original  Sources  of  Euro- 
pean History :  II.  Extracts  from  the  Salic  Law,  trans- 
lated by  Henderson  (on  the  institutions  of  the  Germans)  ; 
IV.  Early  Christian  Persecutions,  translated  by  Munro. 
University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Bradley,  Story  of  the  Goths  (Nations).  New  York  :  Putnams. 
($1.50.) 

Bury,  History  of  the  Later  Roman  Empire  from  Arcadius  to 
Lrene,  2  vols.     New  York  :  Macmillan.     ($6.00.) 

Carr,  The  Church  and  the  Roman  Empire  (Epochs  of  Church 
History).     New  York :  Longmans.     ($.80.) 

Church,  Beginnings  of  the  Middle  Ages.     Scribners.     ($1.00.) 

Davis,  Charlemagne  (Heroes).     New  York  :  Putnams.     ($1.50.) 

Dill,  Roman  Society  in  the  Last  Century  of  the  11  'ester n  Empire. 
New  York  :  Macmillan.     ($2.00.) 


Bibliography  38 1 

Einhard,  Life  of  Charles  the  Great,  translated  by  Glaister.  Lon- 
don.    Bell. 

Emerton,  Introduction  to  the  Middle  Ages:  Boston:  Ginn. 
($1.12.) 

Gardner,  Julian  (Heroes).     New  York  :  Putnams.     ($1.50.) 

Gilman,  Story  of  the  Saracens  (Nations).     Putnams.     ($1.50.) 

Hodgkin,  Italy  and  her  Invaders.  8  vols.  Oxford  :  Clarendon 
Pi  ess.  ($36.50.)  Theodoric  (Heroes).  New  York:  Put- 
nams. ($1.50.)  Charles  the  Great  (Foreign  Statesmen). 
New  York  :  Macmillan.     ($.75.) 

Kingsley,  The  Roman  and  the  Teuton.  New  York:  Macmillan. 
($1.25.) 

Oman,  European  History,  476-91S.  New  York :  Macmillan. 
($1.75.)  Story  of  the  Byzantine  Empire  (Nations).  New 
York:  Putnams.      ($1.50.) 

Sergeant,  Story  of  the  Franks  (Nations).     Putnams.     ($1.50.) 


INDEX 


Aa'chen,  330. 

Ac'ti-um,  battle  of,  198. 

Ad-her'bal,  100,  101. 

^E-bu'ti-us,  38,  39. 

yE'diles,   plebeian,    74  ;    curule,   86, 

139-  . 
.E-ga'ti-an  Islands,  battle  of  the,  102. 
^E-mil'i-us  (father),  no;  (son),  121, 

147. 
/E-ne'as,  17. 
yE-ne'id,  215. 
^'qui-ans,  40,  42. 
/Es-cu-Ia'pi-us,  92,  226,  342. 
/E'sis  River,  64. 
A-e'ti-us,  303,  306. 
Af'ri-ca,  province  of,  126,  130. 
A-gath'o-cles,  97. 
Agrarian  law  of  Spurius  Cassius,  75  ; 

of  Licinius  and  Sextius,  84-86;  of 

Tiberius  Gracchus,  152. 
A-gric'o-la,  238. 
Ag-ri-gen'tum,  99. 
A-grip'pa,  198,  213,  216. 
A-grip-pi'na,  227. 
A-ha'la,  Ser-vil'i-us,  82. 
A'lans,  302. 
Al'a-ric,  298-301. 
Al'ba  Lon'ga,  6,  18,  20. 
Alban  Lake,  6,  43. 
Alban  Mount,  6. 
Al-bi'nus,  269. 
Al'boin,  319. 
Al-e-man'ni,  274,  290. 
Al-ex-an'der,  king  of  the  Molossians, 

53;   the   Great,  57,    116;    Severus, 

271-273. 
Al-ex-an'dri-a,  189. 
Al'gi-dus  Mount,  41 ;  battle  of,  42. 
Al'li-a  River,  battle  of  the,  43. 
Allies,  Latin  and  Italian,  63;  naval, 

55-  63. 


Alps  as  a  defence,  2 ;  Hannibal  cross- 
ing, 105. 

Amphitheatre,  235,  268,  347. 

A-mu'li-us,  18. 

Amusements,  345-348. 

An-chi'ses,  17. 

An'cus  Mar'ti-us,  20,  29. 

An'gles,  311  ;  in  Britain,  321. 

An'i-o  River,  7,  73. 

Annals,  early,  147, 200;  of  Tacitus,  256. 

An'ni-us,  52. 

An'ti-as,  Va-le'ri-us,  200. 

An-ti'o-chus  III,  n6,  118. 

An'ti-um,  42,  48. 

An-to-ni'nus,  Mar'cus  Au-re'li-us, 
254-256,  264 ;   Pius,  254. 

An'to-ny,  Mark,  188,  195-198. 

Ap'en-nines  Mountains,  14. 

Aph-ro-di'te,  92. 

A-pol'lo,  12,  13,  31,  92. 

Ap-ol-lo'ni-a,  196. 

Ap'pi-an,  260. 

Appian  Way,  57,  90. 

Ap'pi-us  Clau'di-us,  see  Claudius. 

A-pu'li-a,  55,  59. 

Aq'uae  Sex'ti-as,  battle  of,  162. 

Aqueducts,  Appian,  90;  Claudian,' 
227;  destruction  of,  315. 

Aq-ui-lei'a,  308. 

A-ra'bi-a,  246 ;  converted  to  Moham- 
medanism, 326. 

Ar-ca'di-us,  291. 

Ar-chi-da'mus,  52,  53. 

Ar-chi-me'des,  112. 

Architecture,  148,  348;  Augustan, 
211-214;  decline,  284. 

A'ri-ans,  283,  291,  312,  324. 

A-rim'i-num,  108. 

A-ri-o-vis'tus,  184. 

Aristocracy,  aristocrats,  see  Nobles. 

A-ri'us,  or  A'ri-us,  283. 


383 


384 


Index 


Ar-me'ni-a,  205;  a  province,  247. 

Ar-min'i-us,  208. 

Armor  of  the  cavalry,  39,  47  ;  of  the 
manipular  legion,  46. 

Army,  primitive,  33 ;  of  Servius,  33, 
71 ;  reorganized  by  Canallus,  45-48  ; 
by  Marius,  162;  by  Hadrian;  251; 
Carthaginian,  97;  in  politics,  168, 
178;  under  empire,  219,  233,  276- 
278. 

Ar'nus  River,  109. 

Ar-pi'num,  160,  180. 

Ar-re'ti-um,  108,  109. 

Ar'ri-an,  260. 

Ar-sa'ci-dae,  271. 

Art,  lack  of  early,  91,  148;  Augustan, 
211-214;  character  of  Roman,  348. 

Ar-tax-erx'es,  272. 

A'ry-ans,  2,  293. 

As-ca'ni-us,  18. 

As'cu-lum,  battle  of,  62. 

A'si-a,  province  of,  127,  130;  taxa- 
tion of,  157. 

Asia  Minor,  116,  119;  under  Renin's 
protection,  120. 

Assemblies,  see  Comitia. 

Assembly-place,  see  Comitium. 

A'taulf,  292,  302. 

Ath-a-na'si-us,  283. 

Ath'ens,  76,  252. 

At'ri-um,  340. 

At'ti-la,  306-308. 

Au'fi-dus  River,  no. 

Augurs,  auspices,  29,  71,  80,  88. 

Au-gus'tine,  St.,  300. 

Au-gus'tus,    Oc-ta'vi-us,  Oc-ta-vi-a'- 
nus,  adopted  by  Caesar,  192,  196; 
at  Apollonia,  196;  a  triumvir,  197; 
war  with  Antony,  198 ;  made  Au- 
gustus by  the  senate,  199  ;  reign  of, 
204-218  ;  frontiers,  205-208  ;  prov- 
inces,  208-210;   constitution,  210; 
public   works,   211-215;  literature, 
215;    succession,    217;   death   and 
character,  218. 
Au-re'li-an,  274. 
Aus-tra'si-a,  325. 
A v' en-tine  Mount,  33,  36. 

Bab-y-lo'ni-a,  15. 

Rac'chus,  148. 


Barbarians  of  the  hills,  40 ;  invasions, 
274,  287,  289-310. 

Bar'ca,  Ha-mil'car,  101-104. 

Ba-sil'i-ca  Por'ci-a,  148;  Julia,  211; 
or  Constantine,  284. 

Basques,  329. 

Bas-si-a'nus,  "  El-a-gab'a-lus,"  270. 

Battle  of,  Lake  Regillus,38  ;  Mt.  Algi- 
dus,  42;  theAllia,  43;  the  Caudine 
Pass,  55  ;  Sentinum,6o;  Heraclea, 
61;  Asculum,62-,  Beneventum,62; 
Mylee,  99;  Eci.omus,  100;  ^Ega- 
tian  Islands,  102 ;  the  Ticinus, 
107 ;  the  Trebia,  107 ;  Lake  Trasi- 
mene,  109;  Cannae,  no;  the  Me- 
taurus,  114;  Z.ima,  114;  Cynos- 
cephalce,  117 ;  Pydna,  121;  Aquas 
Sextiae,  162;  Vercellae,  162;  Phar- 
salus,  188;  Thapsus,  189;  Munda, 
189;  Philippi,  197;  Actium,  198; 
Teutoberg  Forest,  208  ;  Strassburg, 
290;  Pollentia,  299;  Verona,  299; 
Chalons,  307  ;   Poitiers,  326. 

Bel'gi-ans,  185. 

Bel-i-sa'ri-us,  315. 

Ben-e-ven'tum,  battle  of,  62. 

Bibliography,  general,  374-381 ;  spe- 
cial, see  end  of  each  chapter. 

Bi-thyn'i-a,  116,  122,  179,  258. 

Blan-di'na,  265. 

Bo-e'thi-us,  314. 

Bon'i-face,  Count,  governor  of  Africa, 

303- 

Books,  201. 

Bren'nus,  43. 

Brit'ain,  186;  Roman  conquest, 
226,  238 ;  Anglo-Saxon  conquest, 
321. 

Brotherhood,  see  Curia. 

Brut'ti-ans,  53,  133. 

Bru'tus,  Lu'ci-us  Ju'ni-us,  37;  Mar- 
cus, 195,  197. 

Bur-gun'di-ans,  Bur'gun-dy,  306,311, 

325- 
Bur'rus,  228,  230. 
Bu-sen'to  River,  301. 
By-zan'ti-um,  see  Constantinople. 

(  '.r'ii-an  Mount  or  Hill,  20,  33. 

( Ise're,  43,  48,  62. 

Cse'sar,  a  title  of  the  emperor,  223; 


Index 


385 


of  the  heir  to  the  imperial  office, 
278. 

Cae'sar,  Ga'i-us,  grandson  of  Augus- 
tus, 217 ;  Gaius  Caesar  Caligula, 
222;  Gaius  Julius  Caesar  Octavi- 
anus,  see  Augustus  ;  Lucius,  grand- 
son of  Augustus,  217;  Lucius  Ju- 
lius, 166 ;  Gaius  Julius,  the  dictator, 
182-195;  his  conquest  of  Gaul, 
184-186 ;  his  war  against  the  re- 
public, 187-189;  in  Egypt,  189; 
his  character,  190;  his  govern- 
ment, 191-194;  his  death,  195. 

Cal-e-do'ni-a,  238,  269. 

Calendar,  77 ;   Caesar's,  194. 

Ca-lig'u-la,  Gaius  Caesar,  222. 

Ca-mil'lus,  42;  his  military  reform, 

45-48. 

Cam-pa'ni-a,  Etruscans  in,  9,  36  ;  fer- 
tility, 15,49;  under  Rome,  50,  51; 
in  Second  Samnite  War,  54,  55 ; 
mercenaries  of,  98 ;  Vesuvius,  237. 

Cam'pus  Mar'ti-us,  place  of  assem- 
bly, 70,  155;  buildings  in,  213, 
214. 

Can'nae,  battle  of,  no,  133,  135. 

Can-u-lei'us,  Law  of,  80. 

Capitol  (Temple  of  the  Capitoline 
Jupiter),  31,  32,  41,  52,   143,    211, 

234- 
Cap'i-to-line  Mount,  21,   31,  32,   33, 

41.44- 

Cap-pa-do'ci-a,  205. 

Cap'ri,  Cap're-ae,  221. 

Cap'u-a,  49-51,  134;  ally  of  Hanni- 
bal, in,  113. 

Car-a-cal'la,  270. 

Car'bo,  171. 

Car-o-lin'gi-ans,  325-332. 

Car-pa'thi-an  Mountains,  245. 

Car'thage,  relations  with  Latium,36; 
treaties  with  Rome,  39,  51,  96,  103, 
115;  and  Pyrrhus,  62;  compared 
with  Rome,  97 ;  wars  with  Rome, 
98-103,  105-115,  123-126;  Mer- 
cenary War,  103 ;  acquires  a  prov- 
ince in  Spain,  104;  a  Roman  col- 
ony, 158,  193;  under  Gaiseric,  304, 
306. 

Car-vil'i-us,  Spu'ri-us,  135. 

Cas'si-us,  A-vid'i-us,  255  ;  Gaius  (the 
2C 


conspirator  against   Caesar),    194, 
197;    Quintus,    188;    Spurius,    40, 

74- 

Cas'tor  and  Pol'lux,  Temple  of,  39, 
211. 

Cat'i-line,  180-182. 

Ca'to,  the  Elder  (Censor),  urges  the 
destruction  of  Carthage,  123;  pub- 
lic career,  143-146;  historian  and 
orator,  147;  his  basilica,  148;  the 
Younger,  189. 

Cat'u-lus,  Ga'i-us  Lu-ta'ti-us,  102, 
103;  Quintus  (colleague  of  Ma- 
rius),  162. 

Ca-tul'Ius,  201. 

Cau'dine  Pass  or  Forks,  55. 

Cavalry,  see  Knights. 

Celts,  59,  293 ;  see  Gauls. 

Cen'sors,  Censorship,  81,  136,  137, 
138,  177,  227,  238,  248. 

Census,  34;  see  word  above. 

Centuries  in  the  army,  34,  69 ;  in  the 
assembly,  see  Comitia  Centuriata. 

Cen-tu'ri-on,  51. 

Ce'res,  74. 

Char-le-magne',  Charles  the  Great, 
328-332. 

Charles  Mar-tel',  325-327. 

Children,  337. 

Chlo'rus,  Con-stan'ti-us,  279,  281. 

Christians,  Christianity,  birth  of 
Christ,  215 ;  under  Nero,  231 ; 
under  the  Good  Emperors,  262- 
265;  Church  organization,  281; 
under  Constantine,  281-283,  285 ; 
under  Theodosius,  291 ;  under  the 
Carolingians,  327,  330,  331 ;  con- 
version of  the  barbarians,  296,  303, 
311,  313,  322,  324. 

Chronology,  see  Events. 

Chry-sos'tom,  John,  291,  n.  1. 

Cic'e-ro,  public  career,  180-184,  195, 
197;  writings,  201. 

Ci-li'ci-a,  a  province,  178. 

Cim'bri  and  Teu'tons,  162. 

Ci-min'i-an  Forest,  50,  58. 

Ciminian  Hills,  43. 

Cin-cin-na'tus,  41. 

Cin'e-as,  61. 

Cin'na,  168,  171. 

Cir'cus  Max'i-mus,  33,  346. 


386 


Index 


Cis-al'pine  Gaul,  40,  105,  108,  126, 
140,  184,  258. 

Citizenship,  granted  freely  to  aliens, 
20,  21,  35,  36,  48,  129;  later  less 
freely,  135 ;  without  right  to  vote, 
48,  63 ;  granted  to  Latin  towns,  53  ; 
to  Italians,  155,  157,  158,  165,  167; 
to  provincials,  193,  209,  226,  259, 
270;  grades  of,  48,  63,  129. 

City-state,  6,  8,  129. 

Ci-vi'lis,  233. 

Civilization,  Etruscan,  9;  against 
barbarism,  40,  55;  Graeco-Roman, 
258-262. 

Civil  service,  252. 

Clau'di-us,  Ap'pi-us  Claudius,  the 
Decemvir,  76-79  ;  Appius  Claudius 
Caecus,  57,  61,  90;  Appius  Clau- 
dius Caudex,  98  ;  Publius  Claudius, 
101 ;  Gaius  Claudius  Nero,  114; 
Quintus  Claudius,  141 ;  Tiberius 
Claudius  Drusus  Nero,  emperor 
after  Caligula,  225-227 ;  Marcus 
Aurelius  Claudius,  emperor  in  third 
century  274. 

Cle-o-pa'tra,  189,  198. 

Clients,  24,  39,  72,  75,  149,  344. 

CRPa^uMax'i-ma,  32. 

Clo'di-us,  184. 

Clo-til'da,  324. 

Clo'vis,  323. 

Clyde,  Frith  of,  238. 

Coinage,  77,  83,  90. 

Col'line  Gate,  battle  of  the,  171. 

Co-lo'ni,  262,  286. 

Colonies,  61,  142,  157;  Latin,  48,  59, 
63 ;  Roman,  48,  63. 

Colonization,  Sabellian,  3;  Greek, 
11-13;  Phoenician,  95:  under 
Caesar,  193;  under  Augustus,  211. 

Col-os-se'um,  235,  347. 

Com-i'ti-a  (assembly),  primitive,  3; 
importance  of  the  Roman,  71; 
under  Caesar,  192;  under  Tiberius, 
221;  Curiata,  25,  71;  Centuriata, 
69-71,  81,  88,  136,  140,  173;  Tri- 
buta,  75,  79,  88,  135,  173. 

Com-i'ti-um  (assembly-place),  25,  32. 

Com'men-ta-ries  of  C;esar,  191,  200. 

(  Om'mo-dus,  267. 

Commons,  see  Plebeians. 


Con-cor'di-a,  Temple  of,  87. 

Con'stans,  290. 

Con'stan-tine  the  Great,  281-285; 
Constantine,  his  son,  289,  290. 

Con-stan-ti-no'ple  (By-zan'ti-um), 
283,  285,  317,  332-334. 

Con-stan'ti-us,  290. 

Constitution,  primitive  Italian,  3; 
Roman  under  the"  kings,  24-27 ; 
early  republican,  66-71 ;  develop- 
ment before  the  Punic  Wars,  72- 
94;  during  the  Punic  Wars,  135- 
140;  under  Sulla,  172-174;  under 
Caesar,  191;  early  imperial,  209- 
211;  under  Diocletian  and  Con- 
stantine, 278-280,  285. 

Con'su-lar  trib'unes,  80-82,  86. 

Con'suls,  instituted,  37,  66;  early 
functions,  66-68  ;  in  time  of  Punic 
Wars,  136;  limited  to  Italy,  173; 
under  Augustus,  211;  under  Tra- 
jan, 247. 

Co-per'ni-cus,  260. 

Cor-fin'i-um,  166. 

Cor'inth,  destruction  of,  123;  a  Ro- 
man colony,  193. 

Cor-ne'li-a,  152. 

Cor'si-ca,  9;  with  Sardinia,  a  prov- 
ince, 104,  130. 

Cor'vus,  Mar'cus  Va-le'ri-us,  52. 

Council  of  Elders,  see  Senate. 

Court  for  trial  of  extortion,  132; 
courts  under  Sulla,  173  ;  the  senate 
a  court  under  the  empire,  220;  see 
Juries. 

Cras'sus,  Mar'cus  Li-cin'i-us,  177, 
183,  184,  187. 

Ctes'i-phon,  247. 

Cu'mae,  11-13,  31,  40,  49. 

Cu-ra'tor  Re'i  Pub'li-cae,  248. 

Cu'ri-a,  24  ;  see  Comilia  Curiata. 

Cur'sor,  Lu'ci-us  Pa-pir'i-us,  56,  58. 

Cu'rule  chair,  26,  67;  offices,  67,  81, 
88 ;  ex-magistrates,  138. 

Cyb'e-le,  148. 

Cy'clops,  28. 

Cyn-os-ceph'a-lae,  battle  of,  117. 

Da'ci-a,  a  province,  245. 
Dacians,  war  with  the,  238. 
Dag'o-bcrt,  325. 


Index 


387 


Dan'ube  River,  162,  206,  238,  274,  297. 

De-cem'virs,  76-79. 

De'ci-us,  consul,  60;  emperor,  274. 

Delations,  221. 

De-me'ter,  74. 

Den-ta'tus,  Man'i-us,  Cu'ri-us,  60, 
62,  92,  144. 

Di-a'na,  36. 

Dic-ta'tor,  38,41,  42,  52,  56,  58,  109; 
instituted,  68 ;  disused,  no,  158; 
revived  by  Sulla,  172;  held  by 
Caesar,  191. 

Di'o-ces-es,  279. 

Di-o-cle'ti-an,  211,  276,  278-280. 

Di-o-nys'i-us  I  of  Syracuse,  97. 

Di-o-ny'sus,  Bac'chus,  148. 

Do-mi'ti-a,  239. 

Do-mi'ti-an,  237-239.  242,  244. 

Drep'a-na,  100;  battle  of,  101. 

Dru'sus,  son  of  Livia,  206;  Marcus 
Livius,  165. 

Du-il'i-us,  Ga'i-us,  99. 

Dy'arch-y,  179,  204-224 ;  to  mon- 
archy, 225-242. 

East  (Orient),  54,  65,  233,  271,  274; 
condition  of  in  200  B.C.,  116;  Pom- 
pey  in  the,  179  ;  for  Eastern  division 
of  the  empire,  see  Empire. 

Ec'no-mus,  battle  of,  100. 

Economic  development  of  the  early 
republic,  90;  decay  of  provinces, 
131;  of  Italy,  134;  of  the  empire, 
285. 

Education,  93,  235,  336. 

E-ge'ri-a,  28. 

Eg-na'ti-us,  59. 

E'gypt,  alliance  with  Rome,  65,  116; 
Caesar  in,  189;  Antony  in,  198; 
under  a  prefect,  205. 

El-a-gab'a-lus,  270. 

Elephants  in  war,  61,  100. 

Emperors,  Julian,  204-224;  Clau- 
dian,  225-231;  Galba,  Otho,  and 
Vitellius,  231-233;  Flavian,  232- 
242;  Good,  243-266;  from  Com- 
modus  to  Constantine,  267-281 ; 
from  Constantine  to  476  A.D.,  289- 
293;    from  476  to  800   A.D.,  311- 

334- 
Empire,  founding,    204-211;    consti- 


tution, 209-211 ;  dyarchy, 204-224 ; 
from  dyarchy  to  monarchy,  225- 
242;  limited  monarchy,  243-266; 
growth  of  absolute  monarchy,  267- 
288 ;  from  Constantine  to  the  dis- 
solution of  the  West,  289-310; 
division  into  East  and  West,  189, 
258-261,  274,  278-281,  284,  291 ; 
East,  283,  291,  298,  315-319,  326, 
33x"334;  West,  290,  293,  303,  306, 
308,  309,  311,  330. 

En'ni-us,  146. 

E-pi'rus,  53,  61,  I2i. 

Erc'te  Mount,  ior. 

E'ryx  Mount,  102. 

Es'qui-line  Mount  or  Hill,  33. 

E-thi-o'pi-a,  205. 

E-tru'ri-a,  resources  of,  8,  15,  21 ;  re- 
lations with  Rome,  43,  49,  58,  59, 
60. 

Etruscans,  civilization,  4,  8-10,  36; 
territory,  9 ;  political  condition,  9, 
42;  relations  with  Rome,  20,  21,  32, 

40,  58. 
Eu-dox'i-a,  305. 

Eu-phra'tes  River,  179,  247,  271. 
Events  in  chronological  order,  366- 

374- 
Ex'arch   of  Ravenna,   316,    320;    of 
Africa,  332. 

Fa'bi-us,  master  of  horse  of  Papirius, 

consul,  and  censor,  56,  57,  58,  90; 

the  "  Cunctator,"  109,  113;   Pictor, 

146. 
Family,  22-24,  335-338. 
Faus-ti'na,  254. 
Faus-tin-i-a'nas,  254. 
Flac'cus,  Ful'vi-us,  155. 
Fla'men,  priest,  29,  68. 
Fla-min'i-an  Way,  141,  212. 
Fla-min'i-us  Ga'i-us,  108,  140. 
Flam-i-ni'nus,  117,  118. 
For'mi-oe,  62. 
Forth,  Frith  of,  238. 
Fo'rum,  Roman,  19,  32  ;  Julian,  211 ; 

Augustan,  212;  Trajan's,  245. 
Franks,  290,  306,  311,  322-331. 
Freedmen,  344. 
Fre-gel'la?,  54. 
Funeral,  348. 


388 


Index 


Ga-bin'i-us,  Law  of,  178. 

Gai'ser-ic,  Gen'ser-ic,  303-306. 

Ga'i-us  Cae'sar,  grandson  of  Augus- 
tus, 217 ;  Gaius  Caesar  Caligula, 
222. 

Gal'ba,  231. 

Ga'len,  260. 

Ga-le'ri-us,  278,  281. 

Gal'la  Pla-cid'i-a,  292,  303. 

Gauls,  40,  43,  48,  60,  65 ;  in  Rome, 
43-45;  treaty  with  Rome,  53;  mi- 
gration of,  59 ;  join  Hannibal,  108 ; 
conquest  of  Cisalpine  Gaul,  105, 
126,  140;  Transalpine  Gaul,  184- 
186;  adopt  Roman  civilization, 
186,  258. 

Ge-nu'ci-us,  Law  of,  88. 

Geor'gics,  216. 

Ger-man'i-cus,  208,  220. 

Germans,  defeated  by  Marius,  162; 
by  Caesar,  185;  subdued  by  Dru- 
sus  and  Tiberius,  206-208;  wars 
with  Marcus  Aurelius,  255,  262; 
invasions,  289-310;  described  by 
.Tacitus,  294-296;  new  German 
states,  3 1 1-33 1. 

Gi-bral'tar,  Strait  of,  326. 

Glad'i-a-tors,  179,  235,  287,  346. 

Glau'ci-a,  163. 

Gods,  28,  91. 

Goths,  274,  291,  296;  Visigoths,  297- 
302;  Ostrogoths,  297,  298,  312- 
316. 

Government,  see  Constitution. 

Governor,  provincial,  130, 132;  under 
Caesar,  193;  under  Claudius,  226; 
under  Domitian,  238. 

Grac'chi,  character  of,  151,  159,  160, 
164;     Tiberius,     152-154;     Gaius, 

155-159. 

Groeco-Roman  world,  260-262. 

Greece,  conquest  by  Rome,  116-123; 
revolts  to  Mithridates,  170. 

Greeks,  colonies  in  Italy,  11-13;  in- 
fluence upon  Rome,  17-19,  33,  36, 
47,  5i.  74.  76,  83,  91,  146,  152,  199, 
260,  336;  political  relations  with 
Rome,  61,  in,  116-123,  170;  in- 
fluence in  the  East,  179,  180,  259; 
literature,  260. 

Greg'o-ry  the  Great,  321. 


Ha'dri-an,  250-254. 

Ha-dri-a-no'ple,  298. 

Ha-mil'car  Bar'ca,  101-104. 

Han'ni-bal,  as  a  boy,  104;  made 
commander,  105  ;  crosses  the  Alps, 
105 ;  invades  Italy,  107 ;  in  the 
marshes,  109;  at  Cannae,  no; 
marches  upon  Rome,  112;  quits 
Italy,  114;  defeated  at  Zama,  115; 
at  the  court  of  Antiochus  III,  118; 
death,  120. 

Has'dru-bal,  son-in-law  of  Hamilcar, 
104;  brother  of  Hannibal,  113. 

Hel'las,  see  Greece,  Greeks. 

Helps  to  the  study  of  Roman  history, 

353-381. 

Hel-ve'ti-ans,  185. 

Hept'arch-y,  322. 

Her-a-cle'a,  battle  of,  61. 

Her-cu-la'ne-um,  237. 

Her-min'i-us,  39. 

Her'ni-cans,  40,  48. 

Hi'e-ro,  the  victor  at  Cumae,  474  B.C., 
40;  an  ally  of  Rome  in  the  First 
Punic  War,  98. 

Hir'ti-us,  196. 

History,  historical  literature,  begin- 
nings of,  146;  late  republican,  200; 
early  imperial,  240;  under  the  Good 
Emperors,  256,  260. 

Ho-no'ri-us,  291,  299. 

Hor'ace,  216. 

Ho-ra'ti-us,  consul,  79. 

Hor-ten'si-us,  Law  of,  88,  135,  174. 

House,  21,  148,  339-341. 

Huns,  297,  306-308. 

I-az'y-ges,  255. 

I-be'ri-ans,  no. 

Il-lyr'i-ans,  11-lyr'i-cum,  121,  127,  n.  1, 
184. 

Im-per-a'tor,  192. 

In'di-a,  205, .247. 

ln-ter-reg'num,  In'ter-rex,  26. 

I-tal'ians,  i-S,  11,  54,  63;  fall  under 
Roman  rule,  49-61  ;  organization 
under  Rome,  62-65,  129,  133 ;  de- 
sire representation,  135,  165;  win 
the  citizenship,  155,  157,  165,  166, 
169. 

I-tal'i-ca,  166. 


Index 


389 


It'a-Iy,  2,  9,  11,  17,  19,  33,  40,  50,  52, 
55, 59,  252  ;  falls  under  Roman  rule, 
49-61 ;  Pyrrhus  in,  61 ;  organiza- 
tion under  Rome,  62-65,  I29>  x33  '< 
under  C;vsar,  193;  under  Trajan, 
248;  under  Diocletian,  280;  under 
Odoacer,  293,  309;  conquered  by 
Ostrogoths,  312-315;  by  Belisarius, 
315;  by  Lombards,  319-321. 

Ja-nic'u-lum  Mount,  20,  29. 

Ja'nus,  28,  239. 

|e-ru'sa-lem,  180;  destroyed,  233. 

Jews,  226;  war  with  Rome,  233. 

John  of  Cap-pa-do'ci-a,  319. 

Ju-de'a,  conquered  by  Pompey,  179; 
under  a  procurator,  205;  revolt  of, 
233 ;  birthplace  of  Christianity,  262. 

Ju-gur'tha,  161. 

Ju'li-a,  wife  of  Marius,  161 ;  daughter 
of  Augustus,  216,  218. 

Julian  Emperors,  204-224. 

Ju'li-an,  the  "  Apostate,"  290. 

]u-li-a'nus,  Did'i-us,  268 ;  Salvius, 
258. 

Ju'no,  17,  24,  28,  43,  44,  108. 

Ju'pi-ter,  18,  25,  28,  29,  80,  285  ;  Tem- 
ple of,  31,32,51,  52,  143,  234. 

Juries,  judges,  in  regal  period,  26, 
27 ;  early  republican,  68 ;  com- 
posed of  knights,  156,  165 ;  re- 
stored to  the  senators,  173;  later 
arrangement,   177. 

Ju-ris-pru'dence,  258,  269,  318. 

jurists,  Salvius  Julianus,  258 ;  Pa- 
pinian,  269;  Ulpian,  270,  271 ;  Tri- 
bonian,  318. 

Jus'tin,  315. 

Jus-tin'i-an,  315-319. 

Jutes,  321.  * 

Ju've-nal,  257. 

Kings,  period  of,  17-37  ;  powers  and 
functions,  26;  German,  293. 

Knights,  primitive,  24;  arms,  39,  46; 
in  the  comitia  centuriata,  70,  140; 
capitalists,  132,  140;  separation 
from  senators,  141,  156;  in  the  im- 
perial service,  227,  235,  252 ;  dis- 
used as  cavalry,  163. 

Ko'ran,  325. 


Lac-e-dre'mon,  52. 

Land,  public,  84,  86,  152. 

La-nu'vi-um,  108. 

La'res,  22. 

Latin  colony,  48. 

Latin  League,  6,38,  40;    dissolved, 

53- 
Lat'ins,  4,   6-8,  17 ;  allies  of  Rome, 
29,  36,  40,  48  ;  demand  representa- 
tion,   52;    their   league   dissolved, 
53;  organization  under  Rome,  53, 

63. 

La'ti-um,  4,  6-8;  see  word  above. 

Lau-ren'tum,  53. 

La-vin'i-a,  17. 

La-vin'i-um,  17. 

Law,  codification  by  the  decemvirs, 
76-79;  by  Justinian,  317;  Civil, 
258,  318. 

Law  of  Spurius  Cassius,  75  ;  of  Pub- 
lilius  Volero,  75  ;  laws  of  the  Twelve 
Tables,  76-79 ;  of  Valerius  and  Ho- 
ratius,  79;  law  of  Canuleius,  80; 
laws  of  Licinius  and  Sextius,  86; 
law  of  Genucius,  88 ;  of  Publilius 
Philo,  88 ;  of  Hortensius,  88,  135, 
174;  of  Flaminius,  140;  ofTiberius 
Gracchus,  152  ;  laws  of  Gaius  Grac- 
chus, 156-159;  law  of  Varius,  166; 
of  Gabinius,  178;  of  Manilius,  179; 
municipal  law  of  Caesar,  194. 

League,  Latin,  see  Latins;  yEtolian, 
116;  Achaean,  116,  120,  122;  Ital- 
ian, 63,  130,  132. 

Le-ga'ti,  209. 

Legion,  34,46-48,  117,251;  reformed 
by  Marius,  163. 

Le'o,  bishop  of  Rome,  305,  308  ;  the 
Isaurian,  332. 

Lep'i-dus,  consul  in  78  B.C.,  176 ;  the 
triumvir,  197. 

Libraries,  201. 

Lib'y-a,  Lib'y-ans,  100,  103. 

Li-cin'i-an-Sex'ti-an  Laws,  82-87. 

Li-cin'i-us,  tribune,  85 ;  emperor, 
281. 

Lic'tors,  27,  38,  67,  71. 

Li-gu'ri-ans,  13,  n.  1,  114,  126. 

Lil-y-bae'um,  100. 

Li'ris  River,  50. 

Literature,  lack  of,  in  the  early  re- 


390 


Index 


public,  91 ;  beginnings,  146 ;  late 
republican,  199-202;  imperial,  215, 
239-242,  256-260. 

Liv'i-a,  206,  218. 

Liv'y,  215. 

Lom'bards,  319-321. 

Lu'can,  240. 

Lu-ca'ni-a,  Lu-ca'ni-ans,  49,  53,  55, 
60. 

Lu'ci-an,  260. 

Lu'ci-us  Cee'sar,  grandson  of  Augus- 
tus, 217. 

Lu-cre'ti-a,  22,  37. 

Lu-cre'ti-us,  201. 

Lu-cul'lus,  179. 

Lu'cu-mo,  29. 

Ey'ons,  Lug-du'num,  226,  264. 

Mac-e-do'ni-a,  65;  wars  with  Rome, 

in,  116-118,  120-122;  a  province, 

123. 
Ma-cri'nus,  270. 
Mae-ce'nas,  215. 
Mas'li-us,  Spu'ri-us,  82. 
Mag'na  Grae'ci-a,  11-13;  falls  under 

Roman  rule,  61. 
Mag-ne'si-a,  battle  of,  119. 
Ma'go,  brother  of  Hannibal,  108. 
Ma-har'bal,  in. 
Mam'er-tines,  98. 
Ma-mil'i-us,  39. 
Ma-nil'i-us,  179. 
Man'li-us,  Mar'cus,  85. 
Mar-cel'lus,   a   general,    112,    113;  a 

nephew  of  Augustus,  216. 
Mar'ci-a,  268. 
Mar-co-man'ni,  255,  262. 
Ma'ri-us,  Ga'i-us,  160-165,    168 ;  his 

son  of  same  name,  171. 
Market-place,  see  Forum. 
Marriage,  22,  336. 
Mars,  3,  18,  28;  the  Avenger,  212. 
Mar'si-ans,  4. 
Mar-tel',  Charles,  325,  327. 
Mar'ti-al,  242. 
Mas-i-ais'sa,  113,  123,  161. 
Max-im'i-an,  278. 
Max'i-mus,  emperor,  305;    Quintus 

Fabius,  109,  135  ;  Valerius,  240. 
Mayor  of  the  Palace,  325. 
Mec'ca,  325. 


Me-di'na,  325. 

Mercenaries  of  Carthage,  97,  103. 

Mer-o-vin'gi-ans,  324. 

Mes-sa'na,  98. 

Mes-sa'pi-ans,  15. 

Me-tau'rus  River,  battle  of  the,  114. 

Me-tel'lus,  Cas-cil'i-us,  (1)  victor  at 
Panormus,  100;  (2)  who  made 
Macedonia  a  province,  123  ; 
(3)  who  fought  against  Tugurtha, 
161. 

Mi-lan',  Edict  of,  282;  capital  of  the 
West,  284. 

Military  system,  primitive,  33;  of 
Servius,  33-35  ;  of  Camillus,  45-48; 
reformed  by  Marius,  162;  by 
Hadrian,  251 ;  roads,  57,  59,  63, 
64,90;  military  tribunes  with  con- 
sular power,  80 ;  from  plutocracy 
to  militarism,  151-174;  .military 
power  in  conflict  with  the  repub- 
lic, 175-203. 

Mi-ner'va,  28. 

Mi-nu'ci-an  Bridge,  212. 

Mi-nu'ci-us,  41. 

Mith-ri-da'tes,  167,  169,  179. 

Moe'si-a,  206,  298. 

Mo-ham'med,  325. 

Mo-ham'me-dans,     Moslems,     325- 

327.  332. 

Mo-los'si-ans,  53. 

Mon'arch-y,  early,  17-37  '<  °f  Caesar, 
194 ;  from  dyarchy  to,  225-242 ; 
limited,  243-266  ;  growth  of  abso- 
lute, 267-288. 

Morals,  early,  22;  in  the  best  period, 
92;  decline,  149;  under  the  em- 
pire, 214,  230,  338,  347;  improved, 

211,  235,  337. 

Mul'vi-an  Bridge,  212. 

Mum'mi-us,  123. 

Mun'da,  battle  of,  189. 

Mu-ni-cip'i-a,  48,  63,  90, 167,  194,  248, 
286. 

Mu'ti-na,  196. 

My'las,  battle  of,  99. 

Myth  of  /Eneas,  17;  of  Romulus, 
18-20;  of  the  Sabine  women,  19; 
of  Ancus  Martins  and  Tullus  Hos- 
tilius,  20;  of  Numa,  27;  of  the 
Tarquins  and  Servius  Tullius,  29- 


Index 


39i 


31 ;  of  the  battle  of  Lake  Regillus, 
38;  "of  Cincinnatus,  41;  of  the 
Gauls  and  the  senators,  43. 

Nae'vi-us,  146. 

Na'ples,  55,  74;   Bay  of,  49,  221. 

Nar-bo-nen'sis,  184. 

Nar'ses,  319. 

Na-si'ca,  Scip'i-o,  154. 

Navy,  Etruscan,  40;  Roman,  57, 
100,  102;  Carthaginian,  97;  naval 
allies,  55,  63. 

Ne'pos,  Cor-ne'li-us,  200. 

Ne'ro,  emperor,  227-231 ;  Gaius 
Claudius,  114. 

Ner'va,  243. 

Ner'vi-i,  185. 

Neus'tri-a,  325. 

New  Car'thage,  113. 

Xi-cae'a,  council  of,  282. 

Ni'ger,  269. 

Nobles,  20,  24,  35,  37,  42,  46,  59,  66; 
hold  the  offices,  69;  oppress  the 
commons,  72 ;  alone  know  the 
laws,  77 ;  ancestor-worship,  80, 
348 ;  new  nobility,  86-88  ;  decline 
of,  138,  161;  power  broken,  159; 
restored,  168,  172 ;  relations  with 
Pompey,  187;  with  Octavianus, 
196;  under  Vespasian,  234;  under 
Diocletian,  280;  see  Senate. 

Nor'i-cum,  206. 

Nu'ma,  22,  27. 

Nu-man'ti-a,  126. 

Nu-mid'i-ans,  115,  161. 

Nu'mi-tor,  18. 

Oc-ta'vi-a,  197. 

Oc-ta'vi-us,  colleague  of  Ti.  Grac- 
chus, 153;*  of  Cinna,  168;  Octa- 
vianus, see  Augustus. 

Od-o-a'cer,  292,  309. 

O-lym-pi-e'um,  252. 

O-pim'i-us,  158. 

Oratory,  in  Cato's  time,  147 ;  late  re- 
publican, 201 ;   imperial,  240,  258. 

O-res'tes,  292. 

Os'ti-a,  20,  227. 

Os'tro-goths,  297,  298;  in  Italy,  312- 

315- 
O'tho,  232. 


Outline,  example  of  a,  353-358. 
Ov'id,  218,  239. 

Pae-lig'ni-ans,  166. 
Painting,  148,  349. 
Pal'a-tine  Mount   or  Hill,  8,  18,  20, 

33  ;  early  life  on,  21 ;  residence  of 

the  emperors,  214. 
Pan,  15. 

Pan-no'ni-a,  206,  319. 
Pa-nor'mus,  101 ;  battle  of,  100. 
Pan'sa,  196. 
Pan-the'on,  212. 
Pa-pin 'i-an,  269. 
Pa-pir'i-us,  45. 
Par'thi-an  Empire,  180,  205 ;  at  war 

with  Rome,  246,  255 ;  overthrown 

by  Persians,  271. 
Pa-ter'cu-lus,  Vel-lei'us,  240. 
Pa-tri'ci-ans,  see  Nobles. 
Patrimony  of  St.  Peter,  321,  328. 
Pa'trum    Auc-tor'i-tas,   25,   88 ;    see 

Senate. 
Paul,  St.,  231,  262. 
Pau'lus,    Lu'ci-us    ^E-mil'i-us,    see 

^Emilius. 
Pau-sa'ni-as,  260. 
Pa'vi-a,  319. 

Peasants,  35,  134,  149,  155,  262. 
Pe-na'tes,  22. 
People,  see  Commons. 
Per'ga-mum,  116. 
Per'i-style,  340. 
Perpetual  Edict,  258. 
Per'seus,  120-122. 
Per'si-an  Gulf,  247;  empire,  271-273, 

3l6>  332- 

Per'si-us,  240. 

Per'ti-nax,  268. 

Pestilence  in  the  reign  of  Marcus 
Aurelius,  255. 

Peter,  St.,  262. 

Pe-tro'ni-us,  241. 

Pha'lanx,  Servian,  33,  38,  41,  46; 
Macedonian,  61,  117,  121;  im- 
perial, 251. 

Phar'na-ces,  189. 

Phar-sa'li-a,  240. 

Phar-sa'lus,  battle  of,  189. 

Philip  V  of  Macedonia,  11 1,  116. 

Philippics  of  Cicero,  196. 


392 


Index 


Phi'lo,  Pub-lil'i-us,  55,  56,  88. 

Philosophy,  228,  241. 

Phoe-ni'ci-ans,  95. 

Pi-cen'ti-ans,  4. 

Pi-ce'num,  108. 

Pic'tor,  Fa'bi-us,  146. 

Picts,  321. 

Pillars  of  Her'cu-les,  127. 

Pip'pin,  327. 

Pirates,  177,  178,  305. 

Pi-sis'tra-tus,  252. 

Plau'tus,  146. 

Ple-bei'ans,  Commons,  Etruscan,  9, 
59;  Roman,  24,  37,  42,  159;  win 
equality  with  the  patricians,  61-94  ; 
secession,  73, 78  ;  organization,  73- 
75  ;  intermarry  with  patricians,  80; 
admitted  to  office,  80-88  ;  country 
plebs  and  city  plebs,  75,  89,  163, 
164, 165  ;  country  plebs  become  an 
aristocracy,  go. 

Plin'y  the  Elder,  241 ;  the  Younger, 
248,  258. 

Plo-ti'na,  250. 

Plu'tarch,  260. 

Plu-toc'ra-cy,  growth  of,  129-150; 
nobles  are  plutocrats,  139 ;  from 
plutocracy  to  militarism,  151-174. 

Po  River,  9,  59;   valley  of  the,  40. 

Poetry,  early,  146;  late  republican, 
201 ;  under  the  empire,  215,  240. 

Poitiers  (pronounced  pwa-te-a'),  bat- 
tle of,  326. 

Po-lyb'i-us,  122,  147. 

Pom-pei'i,  destruction  of,  237. 

Pom'pey,  Gnae'us,  early  career,  175; 
and  Crassus,  177 ;  against  the 
pirates,  178,  commands  in  the 
East,  179;  returns  to  Rome,  183; 
sole  consul,  187 ;  conflict  with 
Cnesar,  187-189;  death,  189. 
Pon'tiffs,  29,  60,68,  88. 
Pon'ti-us,  earlier  Samnite  leader,  55; 

leader  in  time  of  Sulla,  171. 
Pon'tus,  116,  179,  205. 
Pope,   285;    succeeds   the   emperor, 
309;    temporal    power,    320,    328; 
and    Charlemagne,    331,    attitude 
toward  image-breaking,  333. 
Por'ta  Mu-go'ni-a,  Gate  of  Bellow- 
ing, 21. 


Por'ta  Ro-man'u-la,  21. 

Pos-tu'mi-us,  victor  at  Mt.  Algidus, 
42. 

Prae-fec'tus  Urb'is,  city-warden,  68. 

Prae-nes'te,  6,  53,  57,  63,  171. 

Prae'tor,  57,  86,  130,  17  3 ;  under  the 
empire,  211. 

Pre'fect,  48,  53,  63;  imperial,  205, 
252,  n.  2. 

Pre'fec-ture,  48,  63,  279. 

Pre-to'ri-an  Guard,  221,  223,225,232, 
268  ;  prefect,  253,  269. 

Priest,  see  Flamen. 

Private  life,  22,  335-348. 

Pro'con-sul,  55,  130. 

Pro-co'pi-us,  316,  n.  1. 

Proc-u-ra'tor,  205,  209. 

Pro-prse'tor,  130,  209. 

Province  of  Sicily,  103 ;  Sardinia, 
and  Corsica,  104 ;  Macedonia,  123  ; 
Africa,  126;  Spain,  126;  Bithynia, 
179;  Syria,  179;  Dacia,  245;  Ar- 
menia, 247. 

Provinces,  administration  of,  130-133 ; 
in  time  of  Gaius  Gracchus,  157; 
under  Csesar,  192;  under  Augustus, 
205,  208-210;  under  Seneca,  229; 
under  Trajan,  249;  under  Hadrian, 
252;  under  Diocletian,  279;  Ro- 
manized, 258. 

Ptol'e-my,  king  of  Egypt,  189;  as- 
tronomer, 260. 

Pub'li-cans,  132,  157,  193. 

Pyd'na,  battle  of,  121. 

Pyr'rhus,  61. 

Qures'tors,  treasurers,  68,  75,  79,  82, 

131.  173- 
Quin-til'i-an,  235,  241. 
Qui-ri'nal  Hill,  19,  20,  21,  33. 

Rabble  of  Rome,  159,  163,  164,  165, 

221. 
Races  of  Italy,  2-13. 
Ra-cil'i-a,  4. 
Ras'ti-a,  206. 

Re-gil'lus,  Lake,  battle  of,  38. 
Reg'u-lus,  100. 
Religion,   Etruscan,   9;    Greek,    II", 

Roman,  21,  22,  23,  27-29,  31,  68; 

foreign,    148;     under    the    empire, 


Index 


393 


211,214,231,262-265,281-285;  see 
Christians. 

Re'mus,  18. 

Republic,  founding,  37,  66;  first  pe- 
riod, 38-94;  second  period,  95- 
150;  third  period,  151-203;  end 
of,  202 ;  republican  offices  under 
the  empire,  211. 

Revolution  from  republic  to  empire, 
151-203 ;  from  limited  to  absolute 
monarchy,  267-278. 

Rex  Sa-cro'rum,  68. 

Rhe'a,  18. 

Rhe'gi-um,  97. 

Rhodes,  116. 

Rhone  River,  105. 

Ric'i-mer,  292. 

Ro'land,  330. 

Ro-mance'  languages,  330,  n.  1. 

Rome,  founded,  7,  18 ;  under  kings, 
17-37 ;  causes  of  greatness,  35 ; 
head  of  Latium,  36 ;  becomes  a  re- 
public, 37,  66 ;  alliance  with  Lat- 
ins and  Hernicans,  40;  sacked  by 
the  Gauls,  43  ;  gains  control  of  It- 
aly, 48-65 ;  wars  with  Carthage, 
95-116,  123-126;  with  Macedonia, 
116-118,  120-122;  under  Cjesar, 
189-195;  beginning  of  the  impe- 
rial government,  204 ;  public  works, 
of  Augustus,  211-214  ;  of  Claudius, 
227 ;  of  Vespasian  and  Titus,  235  ; 
of  Trajan,  245 ;  of  Constantine, 
284;  great  fire  in,  230;  sacked  by 
the  Goths,  300;  by  the  Vandals, 
305  ;  place  in  history,  348-351. 

Rom'u-lus,  18,  19,  27  ;  "  Augustulus," 
292. 

Rou-ma'ni-a,  246. 

Ru'bi-con  River,  62;  Caesar  crosses, 
188. 

Ru-fi'nus,  Pub'li-us  Cor-ne'li-us,  92. 

Ru'ti-lus,  Ga'i-us  Mar'ci-us,  52. 

Sa-bel'li-ans,  2-6,  36,  166. 

Sa'bines,  4,  15, 19,  20,  40. 

Sacred  Colleges,  29. 

Sacred  Mount,  73,  79. 

Sacred  Spring,  3. 

Sacred  Way,  Via  Sacra,  41,  234,  236. 

Sa-gun'tum,  105. 


Sa'li-i,  29. 

Sal-i-na'tor,  Mar'cus  Liv'i-us,  114. 

Sal'lust,  200. 

Sam'nites,  4,  5,  49,  63 ;  character, 
50 ;  first  war  with  Rome,  51 ;  sec- 
ond war  with  Rome,  54-59;  third 
war  with  Rome,  59-61 ;  nearly  ex- 
terminated, 171. 

Sam'ni-um,  4,  49,  50,  54,  55,  61 ;  -see 
word  above. 

Sar'a-cens,  302,  325-327,  332. 

Sar-din'i-a,  9 ;  and  Corsica  a  prov- 
ince, 104;  under  Cato,  144. 

Sat'urn,  28,  68,  211. 

Sat-ur-ni'nus,  tribune,  163-165 ;  gov- 
ernor of  Germany,  238. 

Sax'ons,  311 ;   conquer  Britain,  321. 

Scasv'o-la,  Mu'ci-us,  152. 

Science,  Roman,  241 ;   Hellenic,  260. 

Scip'i-o,  -•E-mil-i-a'nus,  124,  127,  154; 
Gnreus,  113;  Publius  (father),  107, 
113;  Publius  Scipio  Africanus 
(son),   113,   114-116,   142. 

Sculpture,  349. 

Se-ja'nus,  221. 

Se-leu'ci-dce,  116;  empire  of  the,  65. 

Sem-pro'ni-us,  Ti-be'ri-us,  107. 

Senate,  Sabellian,  3;  Roman,  41,  43, 
5°.  52.  55.  62.  66,  69,  73,  80,  86,  98, 
in  ;  patrum  auctoritas,  25,  88  ;  and 
the  provinces,  130;  powers  of,  137  ; 
•  opposition  to,  140 ;  plays  the  dema- 
gogue, 159,  165;  restored  by  Sulla, 
168,  172;  under  Caesar,  192;  and 
Octavianus,  199  ;  and  the  dyarchy, 
210;  and  Tiberius,  220;  and  Clau- 
dius, 227  ;  and  Vespasian,  234  ;  and 
Domitian,  238  ;  era  of  good  feeling, 
243;  mere  city  council,  252;  and 
Septimius  Severus,  269;  and  Alex- 
ander Severus,  271 ;  affected  by  the 
military  revolution,  274-278 ;  send 
the  imperial  trappings  to  Constan- 
tinople, 293. 

Senate-house,  32,  61,  79;    Pompey's, 

195- 
Senators,  excluded  from  commerce, 

141 ;  see  Nobles  and  Senate. 
Sen'e-ca,  228,  230. 
Se-no'nes,  65. 
Serfs,  Co-lo'ni,  262, 


394 


Index 


Ser-to'ri-us,  171,  176. 

Ser-vil'i-us,  108. 

Ser'vi-us  Tul'li-us,  33-35,  40. 

Ses'ti-us,  76. 

Se'ti-a,  48. 

Seven  Hills,  33,  36. 

Se-ve'rus,  Sep-tim'i-us,  268-270; 
Alexander,  271-273. 

Sex'tus,  27- 

Sib'yl,  12,  31. 

Sic'i-ly,  11,  33,  62;  a  province,  103; 
revolts  to  Hannibal,  in;  slave 
wars  in,  343. 

Si-cin'i-us,  78. 

Si-do'ni-us,  306. 

Slaves,  60,  134,  341-344;  join  Spar- 
tacus,  177  ;  protected,  226,  230. 

Social  ranks,  24,  286;   life,  344. 

Social  War,  166. 

So'lon,  76. 

So'phi-a,  St.,  317. 

Spain,  Hamilcar  in,  104;  conquered 
by  Rome,  113, 115,  126;  two  prov- 
inces in,  126,  130;  Sertorius  in,  171, 
176;  Pompey  proconsul  of,  184; 
birthplace  of  Seneca,  229  ;  of  Tra- 
jan, 245  ;  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  254 ; 
Romanized,  259;  settled  by  Visi- 
goths, 302. 

Spar'ta-cus,  177. 

Spar'tans,  33,  52;  Spartan  kings,  66. 

Spu'ri-us  Cas'si-us,  40,  74. 

Stil'i-cho,  299. 

Stoics,  228,  239. 

Strass'burg,  battle  of,  290. 

Studies  in  Roman  history,  359-366. 

Sue-to'ni-us,  258. 

Sueves,  302. 

Sul'la,  Lu'ci-us  Cor-ne'li-us,  162, 168- 
174;  proscriptions,  171;  character 
of  legislation,  173. 

Sul-pi'ci-us,  168. 

Su'tri-um,  48. 

Sym'ma-chus,  314. 

Syr'a-cuse,  40,  -jj,  97  ;  siege  of,  112. 

Syr'i-a,  179,  205. 

Tac'i-tus,  256. 
Ta'ges.g. 
Tan'a-quil,  29. 

Ta-ren'tum,  11,  53,  97,  134;  war  with 


Rome,  61 ;  revolts  to  Hannibal, 
in,  113. 

Tar-quin'i-i,  29. 

Tar'quins,  29-37  '<  their  public  works, 
32;  TarquiniusCollatinus,  37  ;  Lu- 
cius Tarquinius  Priscus,  30;  Tar- 
quinius  Superbus,  31,  38,  39,  72. 

Tar-ra-ci'naj  4,  42. 

Tau'rus  Mount,  119. 

Taxes,  64,  73,  81 ;  of  provinces,  132; 
imposed  by  Cato,  145  ;  under  Cae- 
sar, 192;  under  Vespasian,  235; 
under  Trajan,  249;  remitted  by 
Hadrian,  253. 

Temple  of  Vesta  and  of  the  Sibyl  at 
Tibur,  7  ;  of  the  Capitoline  Jupiter, 
31,  32,  52,  143,  2ii,  234;  of  Diana, 
36  ;  of  Castor  and  Pollux,  39,  211 ; 
of  Concordia,  87 ;  of  Saturn,  68, 
211;  of  Mars  the  Avenger,  212; 
of  Jehovah,  234. 

Ter'ence,  146. 

Ter-en-til'i-us,  76. 

Tet'ri-cus,  275. 

Teu'to-berg  Forest,  battle  of  the,  208. 

Thap'sus,  battle  of,  189. 

Theatre,    Pompeian,   211;     theatres, 

347- 
The-o-do'ra,  315. 
The-od'o-ric,  king  of  the  Visigoths, 

306;  of  the  Ostrogoths,  312-315. 
The-o-do'si-us,  291,  298. 
Thes'sa-ly,  116,  189;  cavalry  of,  61. 
Thrace,  116. 
Thra'se-a,  229. 
Ti'ber  River,  4,  7,  18,  20,  22,  36,  41, 

49. 
Ti-be'ri-us,  emperor,    206-208,   217 ; 

reign  of,  218-222  ;  provinces  under, 

220. 
Ti'bur,  7,  53,  63. 

Ti-ci'nus  River,  battle  of  the,  107. 
Ti'gris  River,  247. 
Ti-mo'le-on,  97. 
Ti'tus,  destroys  Jerusalem,  233  ;  Arch 

of,  235  ;  reign  of,  236. 
Ti'tus  Ta'tius,  19. 
Tou-louse',  302. 
Tra'jan,    244-250;    conquers  Dacia, 

245;  war  in  the  East,  246;  admin- 
istration, 247-249. 


Index 


395 


Trans-al'pine  Gaul,  162;  conquered, 
184-186;   Romanized,  259. 

Tras'i-mene,  Lake,  battle  of,  109,  133. 

Treason,  law  of,  218,  221,  227. 

Treasurers,  see  Quasstors. 

Treasury,  68. 

Treaty  with  the  Latins,  36,  40,  53; 
with  Alexander  and  the  Gauls, 
53;  with  the  Samnites,  52,  59,  60; 
of  the  Caudine  Pass,  55 ;  with 
Tarentum,  61 ;  with  Egypt,  65, 
116;  with  Carthage,  96,  103,  115; 
with  Hiero,  98  ;  between  Philip  V 
and  Hannibal,  in;  with  /Ktolia 
and  Athens,  116;  with  Macedonia, 
118;  with  Antiochus  III,  119; 
with  Spanish  tribes,  126;  with 
Mithridates,  170;  with  the  Dacians, 
238. 

Treb'i-a  River,  battle  of  the,  107. 

Tribes,  three  primitive,  24 ;  later 
local,  34,  53,  57,  59,  73,  129;  land- 
less enrolled  in  the,  90;  of  the 
hills,  40. 

Tri-bo'ni-an,  318. 

Tribunes,  military,  51,  52;  military 
with  consular  power,  80,  86  ;  of  the 
plebs,  73,  75,  84,  85 ;  increased 
power  of,  79 ;  usually  nobles,  89 ; 
restricted  by  Sulla,  172 ;  restored, 
177;  under  the  empire,  211. 

Tri-clin'i-um,  340. 

Triumph,  41. 

Tri-um'vi-rate,  First,  183-189;  Sec- 
ond, 196-199. 

Tro'jans,  17. 

Troy,  17,  43. 

Tul'li-a,  31. 

Tul'lus  Hos-til'i-us,  20. 

Tu-ra'ni-aris,  297. 

Turks,  284. 

Tus'cu-lum,  38,  39,  40,  48. 

Tyr-rhe'ni-an  Sea,  8,  9. 

Urfi-las,  297. 
Ul'pi-an,  270,  271. 
Um'bri-a,  4,  6,  59,  -60,  64. 
U'ti-ca,  124. 

Va'lens,  291,  297. 
Val-en-tin'i-an  I,  290;  III,  292. 


Va-le'ri-an-Ho-ra'ti-an  Laws,  79. 
Va-le'ri-an,  emperor,  274. 
Va-le'ri-us,  consul    in   449    B.C.,  79; 

Marcus  Valerius  Corvus,  52. 
Van'dals,  302-306,  315. 
Va'ri-an  Law,  166. 
Var'ro,  leader  of  the  plebs,  no,  141 ; 

Marcus  Terentius,  a  scholar,  201. 
Va'rus,  208. 
Vei'i,  42,  43,  45,  47. 
Ven'e-ti,  185. 
Ven'ice,  308. 
Ve'nus,  17,  28,  92. 
Ve-nu'si-a,  61,  no. 
Ver-cel'lae,  battle  of,  162. 
Ver'gil,  215. 
Ve'rus,  Lu'ci-us,  254. 
Ves-pa'si-an,  232-235. 
Ves'ta,  22,  29,  39. 
Ves'tal  Virgin,  18,  29,  43,68. 
Ve-su'vi-us,  221,  237. 
Veto,  66,  79,  89,  153. 
Vi'a  Sa'cra,    Sacred   Way,  41,  234, 

236. 
Vice-ge'rent,  279. 
Vim'i-nal  Hill,  33. 
Vin-de-li'ci-a,  207. 
Vir-gin'i-a,  78. 
Vis'i-goths,    297-302;     sack    Rome, 

300. 
Vi-tel'li-us,  232. 
Vo-le'ro,  Pub-lil'i-us,  75. 
Vol'sci-ans,  40,  42,  48. 
Vul'can,  28. 

Wall  of  Servius,  33;  of  Hadrian, 
251 ;  of  Aurelian,  274. 

War  with  the  /Equians  and  Vol- 
scians,  40-42;  withVeii,42;  First 
Samnite,  51;  Latin,  53;  Second 
Samnite,  54-59;  Third  Samnite, 
59-61 ;  with  Tarentum,  61 ;  First 
Punic,  98-103;  Mercenary,  103; 
Second  Punic,  105-115;  First 
Macedonian,  in,  116;  Second 
Macedonian,  116-118;  Asiatic, 
1 18-120;  Third  Macedonian,  120- 
122;  Third  Punic,  123-126;  Ligu- 
rian,  Gallic,  and  Spanish  wars,  126 ; 
Jugurthine  War,  161 ;  war  with  the 
Cimbri  and  Teutons,  162;    Social 


596 


Index 


War,  166;  war  with  Mithridates, 
170,  179;  between  Sulla  and  the 
democrats,  171,  175 ;  with  Ser- 
toiius,  176;  with  Spartacus,  177; 
with  the  Gauls,  184-186;  with 
Parthia,  187,  246,  255 ;  between 
Caesar  and  Pompey,  188;  between 
the  triumvirs  and  the  republic,  197  ; 
between  Antony  and  Octavianus, 
198 ;  with  the  Jews,  233 ;  with  the 
Dacians,  238,  245  ;  with  the  Marco- 
manni,  255 ;  with  the  Caledonians, 


269;    with    Persia,    272,    316,  332; 

with  the  Mohammedans,  326,  332. 
Wit'i-gis,  315. 
Women,   23,    37,    113,  337;    Sabine, 

19. 

Xan-thip'pus,  100. 

Za-leu'cus,  76. 
Za'ma,  battle  of,  114. 
Ze-no'bi-a,  274. 
Zor-o-as'ter,  272. 


9182 


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